Accidentally On Purpose
by True Colours
Summary: Kish swears he didn’t mean to teleport into Ichigo’s shower. Ichigo isn’t convinced. A deliberate intrusion? The mistake of a dazzled mind? Or a bit of both? Now includes adventure later on...the bunnies attacked me and forced me to continue!
1. Pai Threw Something at my Head

**Accidentally-On-Purpose**

**Chapter One: 'Pai Threw Something at my Head'**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

**A/N: OK, so I have only known of the existence of this series for about a week, and I only started watching them properly yesterday, and already I have produced this! That is like, record time for starting fanfiction on a series. Maybe because this is the first series I have really liked since I became obsessed, and all my other fandoms I was familiar with before I started writing FF? Or maybe just because this stuff is totally addictive? Also, I am now officially TOTALLY INCAPABLE OF WRITING A ONESHOT! This is the second in two weeks that has expanded into a full-length novel. Well, in all fairness it's just two chapters so far, and showing no signs of growing further, but still...**

**Ah well, shutting up now. Enjoy!**

Ichigo stepped into the shower with a sigh of relief and twisted the jet up to full strength, letting the water batter her stiff shoulders. Her muscles were aching from the day's training workout and she was sticky with sweat. She stuck her head under the shower and ran her fingers through her hair, lifting it up so the water could get to her scalp. Warm droplets trickled soothingly through the roots of her hair and down her neck, filling the bathroom with steam. She gave another sigh, of weariness and deep contentment, leaning against the shower wall and turning her face up to the spray, her eyes closed.

A breath of wind across her face...

'Well hello there, Kitty-Cat.'

'_Kyah_!' Ichigo shrieked, leaping backwards and wrapping the shower curtain around herself. Her eyes flew open to be met with a pair of golden ones, full of mocking laughter.

'Who do you think – I – WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE MY SHOWER?' Ichigo screamed, hopping up and down with rage.

'I was in the neighbourhood and just thought I'd drop in on you, Ichigo,' Kish smirked, leaning back against the shower wall with his arms and legs crossed.

'Ican'tbelievethismylifeisovergetout!'

'Not so fast, Kitty-Cat, we haven't had a chance to catch up or even –'

'Oh, WHAT THE HECK!' Ichigo cried, jumping out of the shower and flinging her arms wide. 'Go on! Take a good look! You can take it with you to your _grave_!' Screaming the last word she threw herself at him, transforming as she flew through the air. She gasped in relief as her costume folded protectively around her. Her gloved hands caught his shoulders and her momentum propelled him backwards into the wall, but then her foot slipped in a puddle and shot out from under her.

'Not quite up to your usual standard,' Kish mocked, catching her at the last second. He leaned in until his face was inches from hers. 'Am I making you dizzy?'

'KYAH!' she screeched, kicking out wildly.

'Ouch, play nice, Kitty –'

'How dare you touch me? Keep away from me you sneaky, spying...pervert!'

Kish looked a little worried now. 'I didn't mean to teleport actually into your shower,' he said, letting go of her. 'I was aiming to land just _outside_.'

'Ha!' Ichigo snorted. 'So after months of flawless accuracy you expect me to believe that you just _accidentally_ landed inside my shower?'

'Well, can you blame me for miscalculating a little when I'm thinking of you?' Kish winked. Ichigo gaped at him. Wow, he was better than she'd given him credit for. It would have been quite a good line if it hadn't been spoken in his taunting, sing-song voice.

'Besides,' Kish continued, 'I never said I was _sorry_, did I?'

He ducked as Ichigo hurled a bottle of shower gel at his head.

'Hey!' he complained. 'It's not fair; everywhere I go I get things thrown at me!'

'I'm not surprised,' Ichigo growled, clambering to her feet. She wished she could reach the controls to switch on the shower directly over his head, but he was standing in front of them. 'And who else has been throwing stuff at you anyway?'

'I knew you'd ask.' Kish flashed a toothy grin. 'It was Pai. He threw something at me just as I teleported. Said he was sick of me mooning around –'

'Yes, well, interesting as the intricate details of your relationship with Pai are, Kishu...' Ichigo cut him off, turning to step out of the shower. 'And I still don't believe you miscalculated.' As she twitched the curtain aside Kish pushed off the wall and flew forward. Before her foot could touch the floor he caught her in his arms, bearing her across the room and pressing her into the opposite wall.

'Of course I miscalculated,' he whispered huskily, 'and of course I'm not sorry. His arms tightened around her waist and he leaned forwards until his breath fanned her lips. 'Pai said he was sick of me mooning around, dreaming about you.'

'Told you you shouldn't be lusting after your sworn enemy, right?' Ichigo suggested, trying to make her tone cutting.

'No. He told me to either get over you or go out and get you. Said my moping was giving him a headache.' Kish frowned in mock perplexity. 'It was _very_ quiet moping, Ichigo-chan, but –'

'I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR MOPING!'

'Ah, Kitty-Cat, you don't want to know how I have pined for you...'

'No! Ever since the first time we met where you swooped down and kissed me WITHOUT MY PERMISSION –'

'Ever since then. Nice, wasn't it?' 'Kish leaned in, closer and closer. He paused, his mouth hovering an inch above hers. His eyes were suddenly soft and gentle. 'I love you, Koneko-chan,' he breathed. Just as his lips began to brush hers his form faded, melting away into the steamy air, leaving Ichigo staring wide-eyed at the place where it had been.


	2. StrawberryCheesecake's got Nothing on Me

**Chapter Two: 'Strawberry Cheesecake's got Nothing on Me'**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. Can I go home now?

**A/N: Most of this was written past 10:00 at night...in fact, some of it was written at 1am. It was actually quite fun, and I normally write better at ridiculous times of the night anyway. Midnight is the noon of thought :)**

_Right,_ Ichigo thought frantically as she scrambled into her pyjamas_. I was just accosted in the shower by an alien being who was my sworn enemy but now professes to love me in between annoying me to an untimely grave. Ok, Ichigo, breathe, it's...OK? WHAT AM I THINKING, OK? I'm nothing but a ball of yarn batted helplessly between the merciless paws of romantic travesty...paws...Kitty-Cat...AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!_

She charged out of the bathroom and stopped dead on the landing, half expecting to see him hovering there with that taunting smile on his lips. But the air was empty. She leaned dangerously over the banisters, then opened the airing cupboard and checked inside. No Kish. She turned to her bedroom door, braced herself and flung it open.

The empty space mocked her.

'Kish?' she hissed sharply, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. She knew it was silly to be scared of a shock, but any second now he was going to leap out of nowhere and make her jump...

'Kishu!' she whispered again. She didn't care that he would laugh at her for calling him, anything to get the waiting over. He had to be here somewhere...

Didn't he?

Ichigo frowned, her gaze flickering nervously round. It was unlike him to leave her so abruptly, without a jaunty "till next time, Kitty-Cat." Still less like him to go without forcing at least one kiss out of her. Ichigo fidgeted restlessly. Once you were all keyed up, even for something unpleasant, you couldn't relax until it had taken place. Her lips tingled as she remembered how close he had come...

_Damn_ Kishu! He always knew _exactly_ how to make sure he stayed on her mind for the longest possible time. Not kissing her for a change, and saying that he...

'Alright, Kish, just _come out_!' she screamed at the empty room. No response. He really was gone. Ichigo flung herself onto her bed, pounding the mattress in rage. He had to come invading her privacy in the most infuriating way imaginable, wind her up, and then somehow leave her angsting over him far into the night, as though he were some high-school heartthrob who'd glanced at her in the corridor. She hated him! She hated him with all her heart.

Her unkissed lips burned.

* * *

All the next day Ichigo was on edge, twitching and jumping at shadows when they took on his shape in the tail of her eye. Once a customer behind her spoke in a similar voice and she jumped so high that she nearly lost a whole tray full of teas.

'Ichigo!' Ryou roared as she struggled, trying to balance them as they teetered.

The whole tray went crashing to the floor.

'Ichigo, will you _pull yourself together_ and stop dropping things?' Ryou snapped, bearing down on her.

'I could have saved that lot if you hadn't shouted and made me jump!' Ichigo bridled.

'You were already jumping. What's got you so tense?'

'I think YOU would be tense if you had aliens molesting you in your shower, Mr Oh-so-high-and –'

'What did you say, Ichigo?'

'Iiiiiii, nothing, I just meant to suggest that if you had to undergo some great misfortune, like aliens in your shower, you might show a little more consider –'

'_What_ has been going on, Ichigo?'

'Ahahahahaha, nothing, oh my goodness is that the time, looks like my shift's over, I'll have to fly if I don't want to miss my, uh, traaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn!' With that, she turned and pelted out of the café.

'Ichigo, you don't catch a train,' Ryou called after her, though she was already out of earshot.

'Do you suppose she's hiding something, Ryou?' Keiichiro asked, coming up behind him.

'Keiichiro, that is _exactly_ what I was thinking.'

* * *

'Gaaaahhhh!' Ichigo cried as she ran, trying to blow off some of her tension. 'That was too close!' She could NOT have Ryou know that she was being molested by the enemy! It would just be _too_ embarrassing. Besides, if he knew he would probably make her go and stand naked in the shower as bait, and that was so not happening!

'Wait!' Ichigo skidded to a halt. 'I can't just never go in the shower again. Stupid Kish! Is he going to make a regular _thing_ of this or what? Well.' With effort she halted her frantic war-dance on the pavement and took a deep breath. 'OK. Fine. I am a Mew and as such above such petty embarrassments. If he appears again I won't mess around with shower curtains, I'll just transform and kill him.' With that settled, she gathered herself and set off at a more sedate pace down the road.

Afternoon faded into evening with no sign of her alien stalker. She had to give herself a five-minute pep-talk before she could persuade herself to get into the shower, and the soap escaped from her twice, but no Kish appeared. It was maddening. All that suspense for nothing!

As she stomped to her room another, chilling thought came to her. What if he was gone for good? What if he never spoke to her anymore, just appeared to unleash monsters on them from time to time? Infuriating as Kish was, she knew there could be no closure for her until she's seen him again. Otherwise she would be spending all her time waiting for him to appear around the next corner.

She went into her room and dumped her things on the floor. He window was wide open – it wasn't like it could keep out the one _she_ was worried about, anyway – and through it she could see the nodding flower heads of the wisteria that grew up the wall outside. It was in full bloom, and the evening air was heavy with its powerful, spicy scent. She turned around and began to pick up the clothes that were piled on her bed.

'Evening, Kitty-Cat.'

She had been waiting for it for so long that it barely startled her at all.

'Kish,' she said calmly, 'I knew you'd be back.'

'Been missing me, Kitten?'

Slowly Ichigo turned round from the bed. Kish's voice was issuing through the open window. She crossed the room and leaned out.

'Kishu?'

'Right here, Koneko-chan.'

As soon as he spoke she saw him, lying stretched out along a branch of the tree outside her window with his hands clasped behind his head, the picture of ease.

'I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting,' he said, smirking beneath his falsely contrite expression. 'I thought it might be best to let you cool off a little after last night's incident.'

'Incident? Is that what you call it?'

'I keep telling you, Kitten, it was an accident.'

'Huh.' Ichigo leaned forward, folding her arms across the windowsill. 'I think it was more like accidentally-on-purpose.'

Kish chuckled and she found herself smiling too. She didn't know where her good mood was coming from, but it was nice not feeling all tense and irritated for a change.

'Is it some kind of dating rule?' she asked after a moment.

'Dating rule?' She had cut through his composure. His face was confused as he asked: 'What do you mean, dating rule?'

'I, wh...' Ichigo floundered as she realised she might have brought up a concept that was totally unknown to him. Alien, indeed. 'Well,' she tried to explain, 'if you're a girl there's all these dating dos and don'ts you're supposed to follow, like, don't call a boy until two days after the first date, don't let him kiss you before he's asked you out, don't be the first to say "I love you"...so I thought it might be, you know, some kind of alien dating rule... "After teleporting into a girl's shower, wait twenty-four hours before you speak to her again..." don't boys have anything like that?'

'Nope,' Kish replied, grinning and relaxed again now that he understood. 'That wasn't rule following, just self-preservation. You can be quite a feisty kitty, you know.'

'huh,' Ichigo said again. 'I thought you were never going to show up.'

'No such luck, I'm afraid,' Kish smirked. 'I have something rather important to tell you.' He sat up and crouched on his branch. 'Do you remember what I said last night?'

'You said quite a lot,' Ichigo hedged, playing for time.

'Mmmm.' Kish pushed off the branch and drifted down to cling to the wisteria beneath her window. He gazed up at her, slightly raising one eyebrow. 'Kiss me, Koneko-chan?'

Ighigo's jaw dropped. She stared down at his upturned face, her mind in turmoil. He was _asking_ to be kissed? Well, that certainly made a change. She examined his face for some sign that he was mocking her, but it was only questioning and hopeful. She made up her mind and leaned slowly down, touching her lips to his in a cool, sweet kiss. It was the most chaste of contacts, but Kish still gasped a little and strained upwards, parting his lips slightly. His eagerness did funny things to her heartbeat, and she waited longer than she had intended before breaking the kiss. Kish moaned a little as she pulled away. Ichigo blinked, trying to avoid his hypnotic amber eyes.

'Alright,' she growled. 'You've had your kiss, now go.'

'Go?' Kish gazed at her in mock surprise. 'Anyone would think you thought I only came for the kisses.'

'Actually, Kish-_chan_, that is exactly what I think.'

'Well –' Kish's voice was level, but his eyes lit up at the name – 'be that as it may, tonight I've got news. And, like I said, I've got something veeery important to tell, you, Kitty-Cat.' He pulled himself up and balanced on the windowsill. 'Can I come in?'

Ichigo staggered backwards into the room and gaped at him. 'You're _asking_?' she demanded.

'Yup.'

'OK, _fine_,' she grumbled. 'As a reward for your good behaviour, yes.'

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Kish sprang into action, leap-frogging through the window and landing in a crouch in the middle of the room. He leapt to his feet and bounded back over to her, landing just a little to close.

'Hiya, Kitty-Cat,' he beamed.

'So, you have something to tell me?' she asked coldly, trying not to giggle at his infectious enthusiasm.

Kish's smile slowly faded into an expression of utmost seriousness. 'Yes,' he breathed, but instead of elaborating he wound his arms around her waist and drew her close, leaning closer and resting his forehead on hers.

'Kiss me again?' he whispered.

'Ichigo fought for breath, feeling giddier by the second. This was crazy. For months he'd been popping up and stealing kisses and she'd fought him for all she was worth, but now that he was _asking_ she found that she was powerless to resist. Almost without conscious decision she inclined her head and pressed her lips to his, closing the tiny gap between them.

One of Kish's hands clenched in her hair, and the other stayed wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against him. His lips parted and he leaned forwards, exploring deeper into her mouth. Ichigo's head was spinning. Masaya, for all his sweetness and attentions, had never kissed her like this, never kissed her at all. This kiss contained more passion than he had ever shown her, maybe even more than he had to give. Kish ran his hands backwards over her face and through her hair, sighing against her lips. She caught her breath and fell against him as her knees weakened; she felt as though she was dissolving. Kish rose into the air and bore her gently backwards onto her bed, his weight pressing down on her as his lips brushed over her jaw and cheeks and forehead…

'N-n-no!' she gasped, planting a hand against his chest and struggling to push him away. He rose reluctantly onto his knees and she wriggled backwards towards the head of the bed, trying to find some room to sit up.

'Ichigo-chan?'

'We – we're supposed to be _enemies_! We _are_ enemies! You hate me, what are you playing at?'

'Ichigo, I don't hate you, I love you.'

'Love me? You've been making my life hell ever since we met! Appearing out of nowhere and kissing me whenever you feel like it, mocking me wherever I go –'

'Do you want me to apologise, Ichigo?' Kish asked coldly, sitting back on his heels and staring at her.

'Well yes, that might – '

'Then I'm sorry.' Kish seized her hands and began to speak fast, the words tumbling over each other. 'I'm sorry I upset you, sorry I treated you the way I did. It's true that when I first met you I thought of you the way you think I do, as nothing but a pretty adversary to toy with before I defeated you, but that's all changed, I swear it has. I didn't know how to tell you. For months I was trying to fight it, telling myself that what I felt for you was only puppy love, or admiration for a worthy adversary, afraid of what it would mean if I let myself fall for you. I could see no way forward without betraying either my people or my heart, so I tried to treat you as I always had, hoping my feelings would fade. And by the time it became apparent that I was truly in love with you, I knew I'd lost my chance, and given you ample reason to hate me. I didn't dare to confess my love, in case you rejected me, but I couldn't bear to leave you alone, so I carried on making my mock advances...only in truth they were more genuine than you could have guessed. But eventually I realised that behaving that way was only making my chances poorer and poorer the longer I left it, so...so here I am.' He stopped and drew in a huge breath, watching her pleadingly. She tried to turn away, but he caught her face in his hands and held her firmly, gazing into her eyes. 'Forgive me, Koneko-chan? Please?'

Ichigo scanned his face for any flicker of a lie, but his expression was perfectly sincere, open and vulnerable. As she wavered he began to kiss along her collar bone and up her neck, running his fingers through her hair. Shivers spread across her skin like ripples wherever he touched her.

'Ichigo?' he prompted. 'Do you love me too?'

'I – I don't know,' she stammered, shaking her head from side to side, trying to clear it. She pictured him leaving – tonight and forever – and her arms tightened convulsively around him. That gave her an answer of sorts. 'I suppose I – I know I do care for you, Kishu-chan.'

'That's good enough for me,' Kish murmured against her lips before claiming them again. Ichigo moaned this time as he began to nibble her lip, tilting her slowly backwards as he did so. He supported her in his arms and slid his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp in slow, soothing circles. She couldn't suppress the purr that rose instinctively in her throat at his touch. Any second now her ears were going to pop out, and then Kish would have a field day teasing her...but somehow Ichigo found that she didn't really mind much. She was enjoying this too much to mind anything. As if to prove her point Kish moaned and pushed forwards, clamping his mouth more firmly than ever over hers. She clenched her hands around his shoulders; he felt so warm and strong, and yet so vulnerable...

'What about Pai and Tart?' she cried suddenly, fighting free for the second time. Kish released her and knelt over her on all fours.

'Worrying about me, Kitty-Cat?' he enquired, a hint of his old cockiness showing through.

'Yes! If they find out we're together...'

Kish gave a growl of satisfaction at the phrase and leaned down to nuzzle into her neck.

'KISHU!'

'Yes, my kitten?'

She pushed him firmly away. 'Pai and Tart. If they find out you're fraternising with the enemy, they'll kill you!'

'I think not.' Kish smiled and cupped her face in his hands. Remember when I told you I had news?'

''Yuh-hu.' Ichigo considered for a moment. I thought that was that you loved me.'

'That's not exactly news, Koneko-chan. First of all, I told you that it was Pai who told me to come and see you in the first place...and when I got back he demanded that we talk. He wanted to know whether I saw you as an enemy or a plaything, or whether there was more. So I told him everything. I told him how much I loved you, and how I thought that maybe, if it was possible for me to feel this way about a human, it would be possible for our races to make peace and live together. Pai was doubtful at first, but as you know he and Tart have been beginning to see your race as something more than a mere obstacle as well...'

'Lettuce,' Ichigo breathed. Kish grinned and nodded.

'And I don't think Tarutu would be all that eager to take down your little monkey-Mew, if it came to it,' he agreed. 'So the three of us talked, and eventually Pai agreed to speak to Deep Blue, to try and negotiate a truce. He thinks that the chances of your people leaders having anything to do with us are slim, but he's willing to try...'

'Oh, I don't know. If they realise the alternative is an alien invasion, I think the politicians might be prepared to talk.'

'I hope so, Koneko-chan. And Deep Blue will surely realise that negotiations are better than a war which will cost thousands of Cyniclon lives.' Kish's voice sounded sure, but Ichigo thought she saw a flicker of doubt cross his face.

'He sounds like a good leader, this Deep Blue,' she said, seeking reassurance.

'Pai seems to think so,' Kish muttered, then shook his head as though to shake the subject away. 'Well, it's not a very big step towards peace, but it's better than nothing.

'Kishu-chan.' Ichigo gazed up at him, starry-eyed. 'You did all that for me?'

'Naturellement, Kitty-Cat,' Kish drawled, trying to conceal the euphoria that coursed through him at her approval. They way she was looking at him now...it made it hard to breathe. Ichigo smiled dreamily for a moment, then gradually began to recall where she was – lying flat on her bed, straddled by her alien stalker. Her eyes widened and she began to move back, but she had barely begun to react when Kish jumped away from her, flying backwards to land on the opposite side of the room.

'I'm glad you're happy,' he said glibly, glossing over the sticky moment. To his relief she wasn't freaking out; in fact, now that the shock was wearing off, she was looking quite put out at having him so suddenly removed from her.

'Shall I leave you to get some sleep now, Koneko-chan?' he asked. Ichigo, blushed, staring down at her hands, and then slowly shook her head from side to side.

_Yes!_

Kish drifted back across the room and settled her carefully into bed, spreading her blankets over her. He knelt down beside the bed and rested his chin on the pillow.

'So what now?' he asked. 'Do you want to talk or sleep or – '

'Oh no, I'm not sleepy,' she chirped, popping up on one elbow again. 'You see, I slept in pretty late this morning because I was having a really cool dream –'

'About me, Kitty-Cat?'

'Nuh-uh, I dreamed that Lettuce and I were swimming through the ocean and there were angelfish everywhere and then we came to a giant bubble with a strawberry cheesecake in the middle of it and Keiichiro said that we needed to figure out how many equal pieces of no less than 100 grammes we could cut it into for our geometry homework...'

'Okaaaaaayyyyy...'

'I'm not _boring_ you am I?' Ichigo wailed, her expression heartrending.

'No, no,' Kish reassured her. Intriguing, the way knowing that she cared whether he was bored or not made his heart flutter... 'I just think that they overwork you at that café.'

'No, it was quite a fun dream really, so anyway, I'm not tired at all.'

'Then we could do something, if you want.'

Ichigo shot up in bed, beaming. 'Oh cool, what?' she squealed.

'I, um...' Kish faltered. What _did_ human girls like to do with their boyfriends? He had no idea, but something _he_ might like to do came to mind. 'I could...take you flying?' he offered tentatively, watching closely for her reaction. She stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, then suddenly bounded out of bed, crying:

'Kishu-chan! That would be _so cool_!'

'Then brace yourself.' He spun her around till her back was towards him, wrapped his arms around her waist and teleported out of the room.

When the world came together again Ichigo found herself hovering high above the house in Kish's arms.

'Wow!' she exclaimed. There's so much _sky_ up here.'

'I know.' She couldn't see his face from where she was, but the smile was evident in his voice. 'Hold on tight, Koneko-chan,' he called, before rocketing upwards until the city was reduced to a spider-web of lights beneath them. He flipped over into a horizontal position and began to fly west, towards where a faint purple glow marked the spot where the sun had set.

'Wow,' Ichigo whispered again. Hanging below Kish in the darkening sky, his chin on her shoulder and his breath warming her skin, she could see what felt like the whole world spread out below her. Rivers of car headlights, white one way and red the other, patches of rough-textured darkness marking parks and gardens, ghostly white buildings and the glittering spikes of skyscrapers. Kish tilted upwards, flying still higher. As a wisp of cloud drifted past, Ichigo realised something. She couldn't hang on tight. Kish's arms were pinning hers to her sides, and if he dropped her from this height being able to land on her feet wouldn't save her. Her heartbeat quickened. Of course she didn't really think he would drop her, but she knew what Ryou would say if he could see her now...

What had she got herself into.

'Trust me, Koneko-chan,' Kish purred in her ear, and then they were falling.

Ichigo gave a piercing shriek of terror as they plummeted head-first towards the ground. Cold wind whooshed through her hair, and the world dissolved into a streaky mass of sky and stars and city lights. She broke off from her screaming to draw breath, but there was either too much air or too little and she couldn't seem to get it in. And now the ground was hurtling up towards them. They were going to crash, they were going to –

At the last moment she felt Kish's arms tighten around her and all his muscles strain, pulling them back up in a neatly scooped curve. Her toes skimmed the grass as they rose, bobbing gently back up to the level of the tree tops. Ichigo was shaking from head to toe. Finally they were still.

'K-k-k-kishu!' she choked out as soon as she could speak. 'Y-y-you – I – oh my...'

'You OK there, Kitty-Cat?'

'N-n-n-no! I was going to die!'

'You were perfectly safe.'

'Safe? I was falling to my doom!'

'No you weren't. Do you really think I would drop you?'

'No, but we might both plummet to our deaths! Like was happening!'

'Koneko-chan?' Kish turned her over in his arms and looked into her eyes. Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you so much.'

Ichigo stared up at him, her heart still beating nineteen to the dozen. His anxious face was framed in stars. The world felt weird, crisp and dreamlike at the same time.

'S'OK,' she managed. 'If I was you...I guess I would have done that too.'

Kish sighed in relief and kissed her passionately. Ichigo's breath caught in her throat. Her heart had been racing before: now it felt like it would explode. Sparkles danced in front of her eyes so that she couldn't tell whether they were open or closed. Kish's arms were protectively round her, and his lips felt warm and solid and safe. The world was melting. She was drowning in stars.

'Wow,' Kish panted, breaking the kiss. 'This feels like flying.' Ichigo giggled as he slowly righted them. Her head was spinning from being horizontal for so long, or maybe it was from the kiss, or the near-death experience, or a bit of all three.

Kish's arms shook a little. 'I'm getting tired, Koneko-chan, let's go back,' he said.

'You won't drop me, will you?' Ichigo asked warily.

'Of course not. We'll teleport.' He held her close and transported. Ichigo closed her eyes until she smelled the familiar scent of the wisteria. She blinked and found herself balanced on the vine beneath her window, with Kish clinging in front of her, a hand either side of her head.

'I love you, Koneko-chan, Ichigo,' he whispered, his lips just barely brushing hers.

'Koneko-chan...is fine,' she stammered out before he kissed her, threading a hand into her hair. The smell of the wisteria was overpowering.

Kish blew out his breath against her neck, sending shivers down her spine, and then whispered in her ear:

'So, what do you say, Kitten?' Do you like flying?'

'I love it,' she breathed. 'I might even start liking the sky-diving part...eventually.'

'Mmm, perhaps. I'm glad you enjoyed it.' Kish pulled her into another smouldering kiss, melting them through the wall and into her room.

'Woah!' Ichigo collapsed onto her bed and began to giggle hysterically. 'HahahahaI can't feel my feet!'

'You're lips are blue too,' Kish observed, bending over to examine her. 'Maybe I shouldn't have taken you to such high altitudes in your pyjamas.'

'Oh.' Ichigo reached down and felt her toes. 'Bleeeeaaaaarrrrrgh! I'm all cold!'

'Kish laughed at her astonished expression. 'Yes. Shall I stay and warm you up? Only if you want me too.'

Ichigo sat up and frowned at him. 'Who are you and what have you done with the old stalker-Kish?' she demanded.

'Oh, he's still in here somewhere, Kitty-Cat, never fear,' Kish smirked. He pulled the covers over her and lifted up one corner. 'Besides, I've discovered much more effective ways of gaining your attentions tonight. So, am I coming in?'

Ichigo snuggled down into the bed. 'I suppose so,' she said. 'No-one really wants frostbite, after all.'

'It will be my pleasure to stave off hypothermia for you tonight,' Kish declared gallantly, climbing in beside her. He tucked her into his chest and buried his face in the crease of her neck. 'Goodnight, my Koneko-chan. Dream sweet dreams. Strawberry cheesecake's got nothing on me.'

'I don't need to dream of you, Kishu-chan,' she murmured, wriggling around to face him. 'I've got you right here in real life.'

Kish planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. 'And I'll always be right here,' he promised. 'By your side, annoying the heck out of you.'

'Love you, Kishu-chan,' she mumbled sleepily. Kish stroked her hair, gazing dreamily into space.

'No matter what happens,' he promised softly.

**A/N: Yup, MAJOR KishXIchigo fluff, and I'm afraid this fic STILL will not leave me alone, so I shall continue to inflict it upon you all *evil expressions flit across face* Things get more angsty in the next chapter, which is already written (how quickly it is posted depends on the number and quality of the reviews I receive – not that I approve of holding chapters to ransom, and as far as I can tell it never works anyway, but it was worth a try), and is, I must say, awesome as my fics go. Hahahahaha, mad one o'clock writing sprees rule! Though they tend to meant that by this time of day (7.00pm) I am very tired and hyper...hence the long author's notes...there are too many ...'s and words in italics in this chapter...shutting up now...**

**True**


	3. You were at the Wrong Age

**Chapter Three: 'You were at the Wrong Age'**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

**A/N: In this chapter we shall abandon the realm of fluff and plunge forth into the world of angst and danger. There will also be the abrupt introduction of plot. At least that's what I call it. I would like to add that I am lucky to be alive to write this fic: I fell off a horse hard this morning, and my left hip is killing me. In fact, all I can really do is sit at the computer and write fanfiction. Ah well, there are worse fates.**

**BTW, when Pai calls Kish brother, I don't mean that they are actual genetic brothers, it's just a term of affection.**

_Five months later..._

'Kishu?' Pai called. 'I want to talk to you.'

'Yeah? What about?' Kish demanded. Once his tone would have been blasé and careless as he asked this. Now it was downright mutinous

Pai closed his eyes and sighed. He'd put this off for far too long.

'It's about the instructions I have received from Deep Blue –'

'What. Is he displeased with my work? Does he want me punished? _Removed from service_? What?'

'No, Kish.' Pai's voice was surprisingly gentle as he looked at his young companion, once so carefree, now brooding and hostile. 'Deep blue gave no instructions concerning you. I am acting on my own judgement. I think it would be best if you went home.'

'We don't _have_ a home, Pai-_sama_. That's the issue here.'

'Pai's eyes flashed irritably. 'You know what I mean,' he said. 'I think you should retire from this mission. Rejoin our people. It would be better for you.'

'You've failed to persuade him, haven't you?' Kish said, cutting straight to the chase. 'There aren't going to be any negotiations.'

'Kishu, the chances of a treaty with the humans succeeding were never good,' Pai said soothingly. 'I did my best – for I agree that if it were possible a peaceful solution would be preferable – but now it's time to think of what's best for our people. We have waited long enough.' He paused, then said heavily: 'Deep Blue wishes to launch a full-scale attack on the Earthlings in two of their weeks.'

'N –'

'I understand your distress,' Pai cut Kish off, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder, for the younger alien had leapt to his feet. 'And I empathise with it, but surely you see that this is the only way we can secure any kind of future for ourselves and our descendents.'

'How can you _say_ that?' Kish gasped. 'I thought you thought that the humans weren't all bad? I thought you had feelings for Lettuce, and what about Taruto? He would be devastated if their little monkey –'

'Hey, stop trying to pin this on me!' Tart yelled, loud-mouthed as ever. 'You know it's you who's got the problem here, Kish, I really could not care less.' He zoomed away cross-legged into the recesses of the base.

Pai shook his head. 'Idiot,' he muttered. 'You are right, Kish, in our time here we have come to realise that the Mew Mews and the race they protect are more than mere obstacles. In happier times, we might even have been good friends. But these are not happy times, Kish, and now we must fight for our people...and accept that they will do the same for theirs.'

'Ichigo would never –'

'Ichigo will do her duty. I would expect no less of her. Human love is not boundless, Kish; in the end, her loyalty must be to her own race. I do not ask you to betray your friends on Earth, my brother, but for your own sake I cannot let you turn your back on your people. Go home. Sit this one out.' Pai knelt in front of Kish and held his shoulders. 'It's the best I can do for you, Kishu.'

'Can I say goodbye to her?' Kish whispered at last.

'No.' Pai's voice was firm. 'To see her again will only would you more. If you visit her now, and tell her of our plans, you must part as enemies. Leave now. Go and be among our people. You have been away from them for too long.' He bowed his head and sighed as Kish headed slowly for one of their shuttles.' 'You were at the wrong age for this,' he muttered, almost to himself.

'What do you mean, "the wrong age"?' Tart demanded loudly. 'I'm younger than he is and I'm doing just fine.'

Pai rounded on him. 'This is not simply a question of older or younger, little one,' he said sternly. ''I am too old, and you are too young, to be caught as he is caught.' His brows lowered in a quelling glare. 'You have not yet felt love, my young friend. When you have, then you may mock him, if you still have the stomach for such jests.' Pai turned and swept away, leaving Tart staring wide-eyed after him. For once the young alien was silenced.

**A/N: Ok, the reason for Kish's new hostile persona will be made clear next chapter.**


	4. Bugger

**Chapter 4: 'Bugger'**

**Disclaimer: **Do we really have to go through this again?

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Essence of Gold, who helped me choose my chapter titles, beta'd, roundly abused me for my inability to write a oneshot and commissioned the little scene at the end, which is now my baby. Chocks away!**

'Ichigo-san! _Ichigo_!'

Ichigo stopped and turned slowly around. 'Yes, Lettuce?'

Lettuce was half-running towards her from the café, pulling her arm through the sleeve of her jacket, her briefcase swinging wildly from her wrist. Ichigo turned fully around to indicate that she wasn't going anywhere, allowing her friend to get herself together and catch up.

'Wow, I'm glad that shift's over,' Lettuce panted. 'Who knew the new summer sorbet range would be so popular, huh?' She gave a bright, nervous laugh.

Ichigo tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice when she answered:

'Yeah, looks like Kaiichiro's really hit on something.'

'Haha. Yeah.' Lettuce glanced down at the ground, shifting her weight from foot to foot. 'So...you want to walk together?'

'OK,' Ichigo consented. She set off down the road and Lettuce fell into step beside her. Ichigo glanced at her sidelong. The green Mew was chewing her lip, twisting her thin braids with one hand. It was obvious that she was steeling herself up to ask something, and Ichigo had a fairly good idea what. Her behaviour over the last two weeks had been...less than cheerful, and it was just like compassionate Lettuce to want to help. Ichigo sighed inwardly. Well, it would be best to get it over with.

'Did you want to ask me something, Lettuce?' she asked. 'You look worried.'

'Well yes, I –'

_Come on, Lettuce, spit it out already_.

'I was worrying about you, Ichigo-san.'

'About me?' Ichigo repeated, trying to keep her voice light and even.

'Yes.' Lettuce swallowed. 'Do you remember how, whenever you were really happy, like when Masaya had asked you out, Ryou would say: "Do I hear the sound of floating?" Well, he hasn't said that for an awfully long time.'

Ichigo whirled round to face her. 'Are you suggesting I was wrong to break it off with Masaya?' she fairly screamed. 'That was a crush, Lettuce, nothing but a stupid crush! Kish is a hundred _thousand_ times better for me, you know that!'

'I'm sorry, Ichigo!' Lettuce gasped, her face stricken. 'I didn't mean that!'

Abruptly Ichigo felt the anger drain out of her, leaving only weariness. And shame. Poor Lettuce was always so apologetic for everything, and she had only been trying to help. 'I know you didn't, sister, I know, 'she sighed. 'I'm sorry.'

'I just meant,' Lettuce said timidly, 'that you seem unhappy now. And I wondered what was wrong...if you were OK.'

Ichigo smiled. 'Lettuce, that is so sweet of you. I don't know what I would do without you.'

'Ichigo, don't shut me out like that!' Lettuce cried, seizing her shoulders 'Look at me. Tell me what's wrong. Is it something to do with Kish?'

As Lettuce watched, something seemed to break behind Ichigo's eyes. 'Yes,' she choked out. 'Yes it is.' Then the tears started.

Swiftly Lettuce sat down on the low wall that ran beside the pavement and pulled Ichigo down next to her, pulling her into her arms.

'What happened?' she whispered urgently. 'Did he hurt you?' Ichigo didn't answer, but her crying intensified. 'Ichigo!' Lettuce said in growing alarm. 'What did he _say_?'

'He didn't say anything!' Ichigo sobbed, tears streaming down her face now. 'He h-h-hasn't b-been here! I haven't seen him in w-weeks. Oh, Lettuce, what's _happened_ to him?'

Lettuce stared out over Ichigo's head, silenced. She stroked her friend's hair soothingly while she tried to make sense of the new information. Unlike the other Mews, she knew a little of what was going on between Ichigo and Kish. Five months ago, when Ichigo brought the news of her meeting with the alien and his promise to suggest a treaty, Lettuce had been the only one in whom she'd confided the whole truth. Since then, Lettuce had been able to put together a sketchy picture of events from the fragments of information Ichigo couldn't prevent from bubbling over when it was just the two of them. For the first month or two Ichigo had been over the moon – floating indeed – but as time had passed Lettuce had watched her joy turn to anxiety. From what she had gathered Kish had begun to visit less often, and when he did turn up he seemed anxious and preoccupied, sometimes even downright distant. And now, it seemed, he had disappeared altogether.

'Maybe he's just having trouble getting away?' she ventured. 'You said he's been coming less often...'

'He's never stayed away this long before!' Ichigo wailed. 'Not without telling me! Not even then!'

'You think he's in trouble?'

'I don't _know_! He promised me that Pai and Tart knew about us, but what if they only just found out? What if they've hurt him? I...I...' Ichigo buried her face in her hands, unable to continue.

'No, they wouldn't do that. I'm sure they wouldn't. They care about each other too much. I'm sure they haven't hurt him.'

Ichigo shook her head slowly, numbly. 'I know that really,' she whispered, and Lettuce realised with a jolt that all the fears she'd voiced so far had only been skating around the real issue. 'What if...what if...' she breathed.

'If he doesn't want to see you anymore?' Lettuce supplied. Surely it would be better to have it said out loud?'

'He always said...' Ichigo murmured, eerily calm now, '...that it was nothing to do with me, when I asked him what was wrong. He swore blind that he wanted nothing more than to be with me...I thought he might be worrying about the treaty, but he always said there was nothing wrong there either...he promised me Pai was onto it...'

'I'm sure the aliens want peace,' Lettuce murmured soothingly. Did it really matter right now whether she herself believed it or not?

Ichigo twisted around, wrapping her arms around Lettuce's neck and burying her face in her shoulder. 'Oh, Lettuce-chan,' she howled, breaking out into fresh sobs. 'If he doesn't love me anymore, I don't know what I'll do. And if...if...we can't...make peace...' She seemed close to hysterics now, struggling to get the words out. 'He has to fight for his own side! Lettuce, he has to, or he'll die! Oh God, what'll I do if I have to fight them? He'll hate me!'

'Oh, Ichigo-san.' Lettuce couldn't think of anything to do but rock her and wait for it to pass.

'Alien alert! Alien alert!'

Both girls looked up sharply as Masha zoomed into view, darting agitatedly from side to side. Ichigo wiped under both eyes, gulped twice and shouted:

'Where, Masha?'

'Café Mew Mew! In the café!'

'Come on Lettuce!' The rapidity with which Ichigo had pulled herself together was astonishing. She transformed and began to run back towards the café. Her expression was steely but Lettuce could see the hope flaring in her eyes. Her stomach flipped with anxiety as she considered what it would do to her friend if she was disappointed now.

The two girls charged up the road and burst into the café forecourt, stopping dead as soon as they were inside. The other three Mews had transformed, but it was plain that no fight was taking place yet. They stood in an inverted arrowhead with their backs to the café, Ryou and Kaiichiro in front of them. All of them were coiled and tense, their attention focussed on the alien who hovered in the air above them.

Lettuce felt Ichigo slump beside her. It was not Kish but Pai.

'Alright, alien, we've got you covered!' Pudding bawled. 'State your intentions, and make it snappy!'

Kaiichiro looked reprovingly over his shoulder. Zakuro caught his eye and placed a restraining hand on Pudding's arm. The little blond fell silent and stepped slowly back to Zakuro's side. Kaiichiro nodded and then turned to Pai.

'What brings you here, Pai?' he asked.

'There is no need to fear, human,' Pai replied. He raised his hands to shoulder height, spreading the fingers out to show that they were empty. 'I am not here to fight. I come with a message.'

The Mews eyes flickered from one to another. What message could the Cyniclons have for them? Finally Ryou said shortly:

'Fire away.'

Pai glanced over his shoulder at Lettuce and Ichigo, clearly uneasy at having his back exposed to them. Lettuce smiled nervously and began to tug Ichigo round towards the others. Pai relaxed fractionally and began to speak.

'As you know, five months ago my comrade Kishu conveyed a promise to your leader –' his eyes paused on Ichigo – 'that we would suggest to our commander that he consider a treaty. Know that we have kept that promise. But after much discussion, our leaders have decided. We were overruled. There is to be no treaty.' Pai paused, as if in regret. 'Our armada intends intends to attack this city in two of your Earth weeks.'

Kaiichiro opened his mouth as though he might speak, then closed it again and hung his head.

'And your commander ordered you to convey a warning?' Ryou asked sceptically.

'No. I am here on my own account.' Pai looked Ryou straight in the eye. 'I have come to realise over the months I spent here that we have been fighting for parallel causes all along, that you are indeed a race with as much feeling as my own. For myself I believe that it would be possible for us to live in peace, and I am sorry that I must wage war on you now. I came to warn you because I would not have us part as enemies, and because I want to give you the chance to protect your people once more, as I must protect mine.' He stopped speaking and straightened himself. Ichigo realised that he was preparing to leave and started forward, but Lettuce dragged her back.

'No!' she hissed. 'Think of the trouble you'll get Kish into if they don't know. Keep quiet.'

Their brief tussle had not gone unnoticed by Pai. He turned, his gaze meeting Ichigo's.

'I have no message for you,' he said, coldly and clearly. Ichigo understood his meaning and sagged against Lettuce. Lettuce held her tightly as though she could keep her together with mere willpower.

There was a moment of quiet, and then Ryou sighed deeply and spoke.

'We thank you for your warning, Pai-san, and we do not underestimate the risk you took in conveying it. We must now begin preparing our defences. This once, leave in peace.' He bowed formally and the others followed suit. Pai responded with a strange, flitting gesture of the hand, and then teleported. The air where he had been rippled briefly and was still.

Ryou straightened up and said:

'Bugger.'

'Ryou...?' Mint faltered.

'This is bad, girls.'

'I don't like this at all, na no da!' Pudding cried. Zakuro wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned to Ryou and Kaiichiro.

'So,' she said, 'what do we do now?'

'We need to find out the nature of this force that's coming for us,' Kaiichiro replied. His voice was as steady as ever but his eyes were disturbed. 'And begin preparing out defences.'

'Not to mention convincing the rest of the world that there's an alien invasion on,' Mint pointed out.

'The authorities already know that,' Ryou said grimly. He met Mint's look of astonishment with a bitter smile. 'What, you didn't think it was just Akasaka-san and I safeguarding the whole planet? No, the government was always aware of the threat. All we've got to do –' he grimaced slightly – 'is go public.'

'Oh, and _that_'ll be fun,' Zakuro said.

'I need to set the scanners,' Kaiichiro muttered, heading towards the café. 'See about hacking into the Cyniclons' databases, try and find out what we're dealing with...'

As the group began to break up and plan, Lettuce turned back to Ichigo. She was silent and pale. Lettuce faltered for a moment, then gave her a brief hug and ran out of the gates.

She looked up and down the street, but it was empty. She ran along the road for a little way, rounded a corner and suddenly came upon Pai, floating in the shade of a japonica bush with his head bowed. Lettuce stopped and gulped. She hadn't actually expected to find him, but now that she was here...

'P...Pai-san?' she called nervously. He turned slowly around, alighting on the pavement and taking a step towards her.

'I have nothing more to say to you, Lettuce,' he said.

'P-please,' she stammered. 'Kishu – '

'What of him?'

'Ichigo...' Lettuce took a deep breath and plunged. 'Ichigo misses him. She needs –'

'Does that really matter now? We are at war. Their ways have parted. Ichigo should keep her mind on things of more importance to your race.'

'I know.' Lettuce hung her head. 'It just...it just seems...'

'Wrong? But true. I have made my goodbyes. By rights I should kill you now.'

'I have failed,' Lettuce whispered.

'Failed?'

'Yes. I tried so hard to stop the fighting, and now...now we're at war.'

'No. I was the only one you ever had the chance to persuade, and you convinced me. You have not failed.'

'I convinced you?' Lettuce looked up with sudden hope. 'Then why, Pai-san? Why are you doing this?'

'I explained this to you not five minutes ago. I have no choice.'

'_Yes_, Pai, yes you do – '

'What are you asking of me?'

The words stopped her dead in her tracks. What was she asking of him? To abandon his people and die alongside the Mews instead? To go home and continue to argue a case that was already lost?

'I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'I'm not asking anything.'

'Lettuce.' Pai reached out hesitantly, looping his arms under hers and pulling her gently against him. 'Take courage, Imouto-chan. Go and be with your friends. I pray that our next meeting will be in a happier place.' He squeezed her briefly and released her, stepping back and vanishing before her eyes. Lettuce sat down against the alley wall and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't bear to return to Ichigo and the others with no new news of Kishu. Pai's last gesture of friendship was only another wound to her when she thought of what was to come. She stayed where she was, sitting in the shadows where no-one could see her cry.

**A/N: Just a little bit of Pai and Lettuce fluff to keep Essence of Gold happy. It does get better again, I promise! Sorry if I have depressed anyone?**

**Imouto-chan – little sister (I think).**


	5. It Needn't be a Bloodbath

**Chapter 5: 'It Needn't be a Bloodbath'**

**A/N: Second section of this chapter is possibly a little rushed, but I hope you enjoy all the same. Feel free to flame. Fluff next time, I promise!**

Desolate. That would have been a good word to describe Kish's mood as he drifted through the skies above his homeworld. In his time away he had forgotten the sheer dismalness of the place, the way hopelessness settled over him like a blanket when he felt the cold wind and realised that these were the conditions his people were doomed to for all eternity.

And now an escape was in sight, and instead of rejoicing he was miserable, doubly wrapped in despair. He pictured the alien armada descending on the humans, devastating their streets and towns, and his stomach clenched. Then he thought of Ichigo, standing framed in his mind against the destruction, fighting. The pain of that was like a two-edged sword. On one side the fear for her life, on the other the realisation, which struck him with equal strength every time, that they were enemies now.

He rolled over onto his back and laughed bitterly at his own folly. Hadn't they always been enemies, the last five months only a brief respite? In his time on Earth he had forgotten his priorities, forgetting his mission and focussing only on winning her love. What a treacherous fool he was.

Whatever Pai said, it was still betrayal.

He let the wind push him slowly past the outskirts of the settlement, heedless of the cold. After all, what were his options now? If they won, to walk the streets that other hands had built and remember who they had been taken from; if they lost, to spend the rest of his life on this lifeless lump of ice until he succumbed to the cold one winter long before his time. It was the fate that awaited them all. It felt to Kish as though it had happened to him already, and now he was trapped in limbo, just waiting for his heart to stop beating.

He looked down and realised where he was. Beneath him was a magnificent structure of ice, glittering cruelly with green and blue and radiant white. This was the palace where Deep Blue resided, and Kish realised that he had been subconsciously heading there all along. What for, he wondered? To beg his leader to reconsider? To scream and curse at him? Maybe to voice his doubts to someone who knew the whole story, who was not merely very, very grateful for the small glimmer of hope, and receive some comfort in return? He must be desperate if he was going to Deep Blue for comfort now...still, Pai had come through for him in that area just a week ago...not that it had done any good, but the older alien had tried his best.

Kish flipped over and descended headfirst towards the palace, the wind tugging through his hair. Having a purpose, no matter how fleeting or vague, sent a little spark of heat through him. Nothing like warmth, but he felt a little more alive than he had done for the past few days. Already he was dreading the end of the interview, and the return of the lethargy.

He landed in front of the tall entrance archway. There were no doors; it was impossible to carve hinges into ice, and pointless to try and conserve heat in a frozen building. Nobody knew by what art Deep Blue had shaped the ice, or how he survived so easily in the cold. Kish had often wondered privately, in the days before his mission to Earth, why he didn't use some of this power to save the Cyniclons whom the cold killed.

That was the sort of speculation Pai discouraged.

Kish walked forwards slowly into the shadow of the hall, his boots echoing on the hard floor. Looking up through the thick green blocks of ice he could still see a diffracted view the sky. In front of him was an archway with steps leading down to what he supposed could be called the throne room.

Kish hated those steps.

He walked over to them and began to descend gingerly, testing each surface before putting his weight on it. They were always so slippery, and even being able to fly couldn't necessarily save you if you fell suddenly. _Why can't he just get some carpets installed,_ Kish thought irritably as he descended. _Why does he have to live in a stupid ice palace while the rest of us freeze to death, anyway? Kind of rubbing our noses in it, isn't it_?' It felt good to have someone to be angry with, no matter how unfairly. _Misdirected anger is a wonderful thing_, he thought.

'Kisshu?'

Kish skidded on the last step and caught himself just in time, floating upwards and just saving himself from a painful blow to the coccyx. Yes, that would be just the thing to cheer him up. He righted himself and stepped forward.

'Deep Blue-sama?'

'I am over here, Kishu.' Deep Blue's voice was strangely warped and magnified by the underground cavern, spreading into a thousand rustling echoes in the fissured roof above. Kishu peered through the dimness, trying to separate his master from the shadows, suspecting that Deep Blue was enjoying this little game of hide-and-seek. Deep green light filtered down though the ice, illuminating great banks of computer equipment filling the huge space. Who kept electronic instruments in a vault of frozen water, anyway? It was beyond annoying. It was downright pretentious.

'Kisshu.' Deep Blue moved, allowing Kish to pick him out from the shadows. He wended his way between the machinery towards Kish, his robe rustling softly against the black sheet of ice that was the floor. 'It is not good for you to be down here for too long, Kishu,' he whispered. 'Even a slight change in temperature…' A long white hand emerged from his robe, gesturing at the plumes of steam that issued from Kish's mouth when he breathed. Kish could feel the vapour condensing clammily on his face. He bowed his head.

'My apologies, Deep Blue-sama. I will not be long.'

'It is no matter.' Suddenly Deep Blue lost his ethereal manner, becoming all business. 'What was it you wanted, Kishu?' He turned and strode away among his computers and pillars of ice, forcing Kish to jog along in his wake.

'It was about…about…'he said.

'I see.' Deep Blue stopped abruptly in front of a tall, smooth face of ice. He gestured with one hand and the surface rippled, turning from its slick darkness to the absolute black of outer space. A pinprick of light appeared, growing steadily larger.

'Observe, the Earthlings' moon,' he said. 'The farthest any human has ever been from their pretty little planet. They study it and map it; an elaborate form of procrastination. Sometimes they gaze up at it, in their pairs, and think it romantic.' The words flicked out, a cruel knife. Kish's wounded eyes blazed.

'And here, on this side,' Deep Blue murmured, 'is where our army is gathering. Look, you see?' A tone of professional interest as he pointed. Kish leaned closer in fascination, gazing at the spot on the moon – they were close up now – where black shapes crawled. The moon turned slowly, and beyond it's off-white curve a bright blue spot appeared, shimmering like some exotic jewel.

'And there it is, the blue planet,' Deep Blue whispered. He tried to remain detached, but Kish saw him lean forward slightly, cold flames igniting in his eyes as he stared. Kish too was enthralled, unable to look away. The planet was so small, so bright, so teaming with life, the absolute opposite of this dead, frozen world. It was paradise. He never got used to it.

'Just think of it, Kisshu. Nothing but animals lives down there. We will take this Earth and make it our own, a glorious civilisation beyond the wildest dreams of our forebears. A kingdom of gods, a waking Eden. Before it has rotated three more times on its axis, it will be ours.'

'Really? I was under the impression we had quite a long campaign ahead of us.' Kish hadn't been expecting an answer to that, and sure enough he received none. 'Master…it's not just animals who live down there.'

Deep Blue turned slowly to look at him.

'I know why you have come, Kisshu,' he said. 'You wish to beg for mercy for the creatures who call themselves humans, the ones currently at the top of the food chain. You do not believe they deserve to be swept aside for us. There is a girl…' He trailed off. Eyes on the ground, Kish nodded.

'Kisshu, how low have you sunk?'

Kish looked up startled. 'Master…?'

'For the sake of the one you believe yourself to be in love with, you are willing to condemn our entire race to an eternity in this frozen half-life?'

'No, Deep Blue-sama, no!'

'You are mere inches away from betraying us all and joining the fight on their side.'

'Master, I would never –'

'You would. You do not, but you would.' Silence reigned in the cavern. Kish twisted his hands together until his nails bit into his skin, trying desperately to hold on…

'Kisshu-san, I understand.'

Kish looked up sharply at the gentleness in Deep Blue's tone. 'What do you mean?' he whispered.

'Kisshu, the humans are devious creatures. You are young. The girl appeared to be in love with you; of curse you felt a duty towards her.'

'What are you saying?' Kish hissed through unmoving lips.

'Come now, Kisshu-san, surely you are not going to hold onto this forever? You were useful to her for a time, but now she is fighting for her side, as you must for yours.'

'No…'

'She spurned your advances until you offered her a treaty, and then suddenly you were her Kisshu-kun, her shining saviour, her sole reason for existence. She played her hand well, certainly.' Deep Blue placed a hand gently on Kish's shoulder, trying to console him. 'This is the nature of the human race, Kish. Devious, selfish and immoral. It is time to let her go.'

Kish stepped backwards, wrenching himself free of Deep Blue, his eyes wild.

'No!' he cried, 'no! It wasn't like that! You – you – she wouldn't! She loved me!' It was all a lie, he knew that whenever he recalled the way her eyes had shone, but it sounded so horribly plausible, worming its way into his mind, putting out offshoots, taking root.

'Kisshu –'

'I will not fight against our people, Deep Blue-sama,' Kish said, standing very straight, 'but you do not understand. The humans have minds and souls too. You…you are wrong.' Deep Blue stood unmoving as he turned and fled.

Kish stumbled through the darkness and dived through the first exit he found. He was running up a spiral staircase, his surroundings getting lighter each second. It was a long staircase and his breath was rasping by the time he reached the top. He was high up in the air now, in a long corridor whose walls were a lattice of translucent white ice. The sun was shining now, throwing dancing rainbows across the floor, but the wind blew cruelly through the gaps.

_No, no, no_…

Kish struck out at the intricate web of ice, crying out as his knuckles made contact. For all its intricate appearance the ice was hard as crystal, but Kish was strong, and spurred on by desperation. The ice smashed beneath his fist with a musical tinkle, freezing shards scattering around his arm and clattering on the floor. The destruction brought momentary relief from the pain. Kish stared down at the shattered fragments, breathing hard.

Shattered fragments, just like his heart…

He launched himself at the wall with a wild, wordless howl of rage, smashing through the delicate topiaries of ice that reminded him so much of Deep Blue. Deep Blue and his stupid, idiotic ice palace. He might have the best interests of the Cyniclons at heart, but he was blind and wrong, _wrong_, _WRONG_! He lashed out again and a searing, raking pain shot up his arm as a sharp edge scored his skin from wrist to shoulder.

Kish stared wide-eyed at the wound, his breathing fast and shallow. The burning cold, the heat of his blood, the searing pain and the running scarlet…they screamed sensation, jolting him awake, forcing him to feel. The adrenaline rush, the clean, manageable burn of physical pain, they were addictive. He raised his arm to punch again, then froze, his fist curled. He had seen others doing this, cutting themselves as a form of release, and he had always despised them, promising himself that he would never be so weak.

It wasn't as if he was suicidal. It was the waking up he was relishing, not escape into death.

It was too close…

_Think of Ichigo,_ he ordered himself_. Remember what is truly good, not this phantom energy_.

But thinking of Ichigo hurt so much. It made him want to strike and strike and strike at the wall, obliterating the agony in his mind with physical pain.

Think what she would say if she could see you bleeding now. Believe that she would care. Believe in the truth.

'Ichigo,' he whispered, leaning against the wall with his fist pressed into his forehead, fighting for control. '_Ichigo_…'

To his left a green light glowed out of an alcove in the wall. Kish looked up slowly, clutching at the distraction like a lifeline. The light glowed again, pulsing out and then receding. Moving like a sleepwalker he stepped forward, out of the mess of shattered ice, heading towards the light. He ducked under a low archway and found himself in a small room. Unlike the rest of the palace it was pitch dark, lit only by the blinking of dozens of green switches and lights. It was also…stuffy? Kish breathed in deeply, feeling his muscles relax for the first time in days. He hadn't realised how they'd been permanently clenched with cold.

He hadn't felt warmth like this since he'd left the Earth.

It was the heat of computers pounding away with calculations, pouring out wasted energy into the room. He stretched his arms till his joints cracked, luxuriating in the sensation and then moved further into the room. What could be the purpose of this secret little computer lab, away from the main system in the hall he'd just left? He'd never been much of a computer hacker – that had always been Pai's job – so he headed for the only monitor in the room, a slim, compact machine reminiscent of an Earthling's laptop.

He tilted the screen backwards and was met with lines of typed text, plain black on white, accompanied by military diagrams. He was about to shut it again, as it looked to be all strategic speak similar to what was stored downstairs, when a single phrase caught his eye:

"_Duel elimination._"

He scanned further down the document.

"_Balance of force…statistical probability…anticipated death toll_ beneath quota_…"_

Kish sank into the chair in front of the computer, his hand on the mouse to scroll down. A spectator would have seen him grow more and more still as he read, until he might have been carved from the same ice that formed the rest of the building. Finally he rose and closed the laptop with a shaking hand.

It was clear to him now.

The Cyniclons had not attempted a treaty because the idea had never been suggested to them. Deep Blue intended them to fight. To fight, but not to win. Every attack had been calculated by him, every battle carefully planned, to leave the Cyniclons and humans so evenly matched that neither side could win. Both would be decimated.

_He wants the blue planet_, Kish thought dazedly. _He wants it, all for himself. He means for us all to die_.

Kish felt numb with horror, but beneath that there was an almost buoyant sense of relief. His race might be completely doomed, but at least his way forward was clear now.

Get back to Earth.

Stop the fight.

Or die trying.

* * *

'…the enemy will be using space technology. They have also been linked to a number of mutations of wildlife and appear to be able to place enemies in a deep coma-trance using a hitherto unknown form of hypnosis. Therefore it is essential that you and your family take the following measures. Never travel alone or at night. Make sure all household pets are safely locked up at all times. Report any unusual behaviour…'

Ichigo ignored the advertisement on the TV, which had become painfully familiar over the last week and a half. She couldn't believe that the government were still trying to pass this off as a foreign invasion, though it was probably the only way to get people to treat it as serious at all. Zakuro's image was being broadcast on the screen, her dusky purple hair combed back off her face, listing the emergency procedures to the public in even, monotonous tones. The girl herself was sitting opposite Ichigo at the café table, her eyes on her coffee. The other Mews and Ryou were all scattered about in a dismal parody of their usual after-hours slump, listening while Keiichiro talked and typed on the computer in front of him.

'…established a successful link with their computer base,' he said. 'It should remain undiscovered unless they perform a full programme search, which doesn't seem to be likely. They'll be launching an attack with a small, well-equipped hit force – about a hundred – at some point between twelve-noon Friday and twelve-noon Saturday. They're being deliberately ambiguous about the exact time so far. The move doesn't seem to make much sense; if I were them, I'd be launching a full-scale assault while I had the element of surprise, but we'll respond in kind with an elite fighting force…'

Ichigo stared at her hands, numb with horror. How could he, sweet, diplomatic Keiichiro, talk so calmly of killing a hundred sentient beings? She stood abruptly, spilling her coffee across the table.

'Ichigo…' Ryou began.

'I…I…' she choked, and fled. The others stared after her for a moment, and then Zakuro half-rose from her seat, looking questioningly at Lettuce.

'Please,' Lettuce whispered beseechingly. 'I can't, not again…'

Zakuro nodded and left.

* * *

Ichigo was curled up on the footpath she had so often swept, her head on her knees. She had transformed into her Mew form, simply because the pain seemed slightly easier to bear when she was more aware of her body like this. She clutched her Strawberry Bell in her hand so that it marked grooves into her palm. How could she bear this? How?

'It sucks being the celebrity endorsement behind this pack of lies, believe me.'

Ichigo looked up as Zakuro's sardonic alto reached her ears.

'Right little ray of sunshine you are, Zakuro-san,' she remarked.

'I could say the same of you, Ichigo.' Zakuro sat down beside her. 'Listen, you've got to just pull yourself together and –'

'I can't do this, Zakuro!' Ichigo declared suddenly. 'I just can't!'

'What exactly is it that you can't do?'

'I can't fight them!' Ichigo dissolved into tears and began to scream hysterically. 'I can't hurt them, not when I feel this way about him. It's wrong, they're just like us and –'

'Ichigo,' Zakuro said quietly, 'you must. Think of your mother and father, think of Aoyama-kun – '

'I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT AOYAMA!' Ichigo shrieked.

Zakuro slapped her sharply across her face.

'I know you don't,' she said during the momentary silence that followed, 'but you did once. The Cyniclons may be the same species as Kish, but they are coming to kill, and we must stop them. But it doesn't have to be a bloodbath. Remember, Ichigo, if you can hit them hard enough in the first battle, they may not come back for more. Put up a good fight on the first day and maybe we can end this confrontation quickly.'

'But killing them…it's not right.'

'No, and nor is letting them kill us. You gave them a chance at right, Ichigo, and they threw it away. How good can a people like that be?' Ichigo flinched at the hard words Zakuro was speaking, words that made a hideous kind of sense.'

'Ichigo.' Zakuro pronounced her name carefully. 'Come on. Kisshu isn't the only one you love. What about your friends and family? Don't they have your love too? You tried your level best for peace, but now you must fight.'

Ichigo sat still and quiet for so long that Zakuro thought she was never going to answer. Then finally she said, in a voice that cracked:

'Okay.'

'Ryou told me to give you this.' Zakuro handed her a tiny electronic device. 'This is a two-way radio. It clips into your ear like this. It allows you to stay in touch with Keiichiro at all times, so that he can co-ordinate us. Keep it switched on. You'll need to be on call from noon on Friday, and able to call for help if you get ambushed.'

'Okay,' Ichigo said again. She clipped the earpiece on. '…Zakuro-onee-chan, thanks.'

'No problem.' Zakuro gave her a brief hug and stood. 'Good luck, Ichigo-sama. Don't sit there too long, you should go home. I'll see you soon.'

Ichigo leaned against the wall and tried not to imagine the circumstances.

**A/N: Oops, that was a rather grim chapter. Slight emo-moment from Kish and a brief insight into the abusive relationship between Ichigo and Zakuro. On a brighter side, who'd have guessed that Deep Blue would be so fun to write? Seriously, I had a great time with the ice palace scene. So if you're feeling too depressed now (flatters self) just try and think of it through my eyes. And then go to Essence of Gold's profile and read some of her PaiXLettuce fluff to cheer yourselves up ********. **


	6. Such Trust

**Chapter 6: 'Such Trust'**

**A/N: Had something important to say, but can't remember it. Bah. No time. Enjoy.**

Ichigo was awoken by a crackling voice in her earpiece.

'Repeat?' she asked, staring up at her bedroom ceiling.

'Ichigo.' Ryou's voice came through the receiver, clearer this time. 'They're approaching. Rendezvous at the café for a final briefing now.'

'Right away,' Ichigo replied, faint cynicism in her tone. She had no heart for this fight and Ryou knew it; his hard, commanding voice refused to even acknowledge the existence of emotion, of anything that might put her off. She turned her head to the side and looked at the clock on her bedside table. 4.13 am. Fun. She stared, letting her eyes grow unfocussed, until a phantom face seemed to shimmer in front of them. The echo of a voice rang in her ears.

'Strawberry cheesecake...'

Her eyes stung, and then she shook herself in exasperation. Lying here crying over what was gone and waiting for the Cyniclons to butcher her was not going to help anything. Ichigo swung one leg out of bed, and then paused. How could it be right to fight the race of the one she loved as much as she loved her own life? Could she do it? But nor could she leave six billion humans to die. Ichigo screwed her eyes up and gritted her teeth, trying to hold herself together. She couldn't see the right way anymore. Maybe there was no right way. So she would just do what the friends she trusted told her to do.

She transformed and leapt out of the window, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Her heart swelled with bittersweet joy at the simple beauty of the action. How wonderful it was to be alive, even if her heart's blood had been taken from her, even on the brink of death. Every breath, every tick of the clock was a miracle.

The mundane streets of her neighbourhood were grey and ribboned with mist, lending them a bare, empty kind of beauty. It was quiet, a silence that pressed on the eardrums. Ichigo knew that she didn't have time to stand all gooey-eyes and reminisce, but she paused for a moment all the same, taking it all in. A bird gave a liquid warble, somehow projecting its song over the entire street. _That's the corner where I used to meet Moe and Mema every morning before school... _she thought_. There's the tree with the pom-pom flowers that I liked to pick in the summer...there by the letterbox is where Masaya asked me out for our second date..._Ichigo smiled. It was a happy memory, even if it held no relevance now She was grateful to him for the many months of joy he had given her before more powerful things got in the way of sweet crushes. Maybe she would have gone back to him in the end, if Kish stayed disappeared. He would have given her a good life.

She looked up at her window. The wisteria had grown rampantly over the summer; it was almost creeping in at her window. It was high time her dad cut it back. Ichigo suddenly wished it were May, so that she could have one last glimpse of the flowers that would always remind her of Kish, even if she could not see him again. She gazed up at her room, at the vines, at the sky above. She let the sweet sadness of their memories fill her up. Then she started to run.

Her breath sucked in and out, quick and even. She ran briskly with her body slung low, darting cat-like along the pavement, her cat-ears twitching from side to side to catch whatever sound was available. More birdsong...developing into a regular dawn chorus now...the swoosh of an early car. More silence. A whisper in her earpiece.

'Too late.'

'What do you mean?' she demanded, still running.

'Ichigo, change course.' It was Keiichiro's voice this time. 'There's already aliens in the city. Not many, scouts most likely, sent to assess the ground. Or to take out you girls. No time for a briefing, you need to take them down and then rendezvous with the army detachment. They're assembling on the cliffs above Tokyo Bay; I've collected intelligence that the Cyniclon force will be arriving there at 5.15. I'll co-ordinate you. I'm putting you on the network now.'

There was a hiss in her earpiece as Keiichiro boosted her range, connecting her to the others. Ichigo pulled out an electronic card with a dark display screen and flicked it on. Down in one corner a white dot marked her position. In the centre of the screen an alien was represented in red.

'Zakuro, how are you doing?' Keiichiro asked. There was a loud grunt and then Zakuro came online, her breathlessness marring her cool tone.

'Two of them tried to jump me at the intersection. Piece of cake.'

'Mint, what about you?'

'No sign yet. Lettuce and I are circling our sector.'

'I'm getting a reading on one,' Ichigo reported. 'I'm going in.'

The trouble with the display card was that it only showed her position relative to the alien's; there was no map of the streets to guide her. She tried to stay on a straight course towards him, but time and again a twist of the road forced her to turn off in the opposite direction. Ichigo gnashed her teeth together in frustration, her breath rasping in her ears.

'Keiichiro-onii-chan! I'm in a hot spot here, na no da! Three of them.'

'Hang in there, Pudding! Ichigo, you're closest, try and connect up with her!'

Ichigo glanced down at her card. Another white dot had joined the first two, representing Pudding.

'Can't you tell me what street she's on?' she yelled as she came up against another brick wall. She ran along it, trying to find a spot low enough to spring over.

'Mint, get up there and try to guide her in!' Keiichiro instructed. Ichigo heard a whoosh of air as her team-mate took off, and leaned backwards to scan the sky.

'OK, Ichigo-san, where are you?'

'A few blocks over from my house... North of the cafe...'

'I'm heading over... I can see Pudding now!'

Ryou's voice cut through their conversation.

'Ichigo, that Cyniclon in your district is on the move. Head him off, head him off!'

'but what about Pudding?' Ichigo cried as a new street forced her into a path parallel to the monkey mew's position, herding her like a rat in a trap. 'Minto-san! Minto! Where are you?' She sprinted forward, her breath sobbing in her throat. 'Pudding, hang on!'

'Ichigo.' It was Zakuro speaking. Her voice, calm and even as ever, seemed to broach some reserve of reason in Ichigo's mind. She slowed her frantic pace to listen.

'Ichigo, find your alien. Mint can take care of Pudding-chan, ne?'

'I see her!' Pudding called. 'Minto-onee-chan!'

'We're fine, Ichigo-san. We'll try to cut through and join up with you,' Mint said.

Ichigo checked her card. Her search for Pudding had taken her in the right direction; her dot and the alien's were almost touching. She pocketed the card and trotted down the next road. She rounded a corner and stopped, blinking in the sudden light that met her eyes.

She had come out in a broad square surrounded by shops, all with their grey security grilles closed. Here the light pooled, unobstructed by high walls; here too the mist writhed in insubstantial swathes.

On the other side of the square a figure stood.

He turned as his bat-like ears caught the sound of her approach. Her position mirrored his as they both peered forwards, trying to see. Her breath stirred the fog in front of her, and for a moment her eyes were distracted by the swirling shapes, but then she refocused on his face, slowly resolving through the haze. For a long moment she stared at him. It was just her conscious mind making sure, really. There was no mistaking who he was.

Kish.

She didn't hesitate. She ran to him, crossing the square in two swift bounds and slamming into him with a force that nearly knocked them both to the ground. Her arms locked around his chest.

'Kisshu-chan! Oh, Kisshu!' she sobbed into his shoulder.

His hands had risen reflexively to rest on her back. He did not clutch her the way she was clenching him, but his arms were as secure as an iron vice.

'Such trust,' he murmured, brushing a hand lightly over her hair. And that was when she realised that he had his dragon-sword in his hand.

Her throat closed in fear. She didn't know whether it was fear for her life or of the emotional pain she would suffer if he turned on her now. His race had come to destroy hers today. Pai had come to warn them. Where did Kish stand in all this?

'Kisshu?' she whispered, pushing a strand of hair from his eyes with trembling fingers.

'You're trust, Koneko-chan. It's more than I deserve today.' She heard his sword clang on the ground behind her, and then he was kissing her as though his very life depended on it.

The kiss struck her system like an explosion, burning all reason away.

'Ichigo,' he moaned into her mouth, his fingers sliding desperately over her face as though to memorise every inch of it. She gasped at the raw passion in his voice, her hands balling into fists in his hair. He placed one palm against the nape of her neck and the other on the back of her head, crushing her face even closer to his. Her fingers met with a raised, scabbed ridge on his arm, and the idea of something hurting him sent more pain knifing through her. She gripped him until her muscles were shaking with the effort. A frantic pulse was beating through her body; every beat seemed to scream his name: _Kish, Kish, Kish_.

'Ichigo,' he said again, wrenching his lips away from hers to gaze almost reverently into her eyes. His hands framed her face, cupping it gently as though it were the most precious thing in the universe. 'Oh Ichigo, Koneko-chan, I love you, I've _missed_ you.' He pulled her face back up to his, kissing her again with the same furious urgency. Ichigo nearly screamed with desperation as she struggled to get closer to him, needing him after all their weeks apart. Her heart felt like it might rip itself out of her chest to be with him. She pulled back for a second, having to _see_ him, to prove to herself that this was really her Kish and not some illusion, some stranger, but then her other need grew stronger and she stood on tip-toes and melded her mouth with his again.

'K-k-koneko-chan.' Kish broke the kiss with a groan and caught her face in his hands, restraining her this time. 'Koneko-chan, I have to talk to you.'

Ichigo nodded, but couldn't resist reaching up to kiss him on the lips once, twice, three times...Kish struggled with himself, trying to find the strength to push her away, and eventually settled for pulling her against him until her could feel her body along every line of his. Holding her like this, he spoke.

'Ichigo, we have to stop them now.'

Hope and eagerness flooded her face, quickly followed by doubt.

'Kish, will they listen to us? If they've already refused a treaty –'

'Deep Blue never offered them any treaty,' Kish cut her off. He spoke in a voice she'd never heard him use before. Hard. 'He tricked us all.'

'What do you mean?'

Kish grabbed her hand. 'I'll explain as we go. We have to hurry!'

Why don't we just teleport?' Ichigo panted as he dragged her out of the square.

'Can't do it,' Kish grunted.

'Why –'

'On my planet, teleporting in strictly regulated. If you hit someone in hyperspace, you could both be killed. And with the army arriving, I can't risk it.'

'Oh.'

'So Deep Blue lied to us. He only ever pretended to suggest a treaty to our leaders. I'm sorry I was such a jerk these past few months, Kitten, I was just worried because it was taking so long...and Pai came out of discussions looking less and less hopeful every time...but you see, Deep Blue never meant to give us peace, and he never meant for us to win. If we fight today, both sides will lose. Everyone will be killed. He wants the blue planet for himself.

Ichigo skidded to a halt.

'He wants all of us dead?' she said incredulously. 'What's he supposed to do with a whole planet to himself?'

'How should I know?' Kish exploded, flinging up his arms. 'He's been alive for more than a million years, Ichigo!'

'I'm sorry.'

'I know,' he sighed, taking her hand again. 'I've been wondering myself.'

They were running through the park now. As they clattered over the bridge across the stream that fed the lake, Kish paused, drawing in a rasping breath. 'But what I don't understand, he panted, 'is how Pai fell for it. I never trusted Deep Blue, though I didn't expect _this_, and Pai's always been so much_ smarter_ than me.' He shook his head blindly from side to side. ''Why didn't he see it?'

'Because he didn't want to see it.'

Kish and Ichigo whipped round, looking for the speaker.

'Ryou!' Ichigo gasped. 'What are you doing here?'

Ryou was perched on the park railings. When Ichigo spoke he jumped down and came towards them.

'I decided to come and check on you when Keiichiro picked up some rather interesting feedback through your earpiece, Ichigo-san,' Ryou shrugged. 'I was curious. Even under the circumstances, Ichigo blushed scarlet. Ryou turned to Kish.

'Pai is a clear thinker and a brilliant strategist, but I saw his weakness the first time I met him. He requires a clear divide between good and evil, a chain of command and a leader to follow. Fighting for Deep Blue was simpler to him than seeing the truth. Even coming to warn us was a big step out for him, but I'm afraid he's played right into Deep blue's hands. A surprise attack might have won the day for your kind, but now we're prepared. You'll be decimated if you try to fight.

Kish flinched, but his voice was steady as he spoke, shifting subtly into fighting stance.

'That's why I've got to stop them. You should let us by, Shirogane.'

Ryou took a step backwards, raising his hands.

'I'm not here to stop you.' He glanced at his watch. 'But you're not going to make it at the rate you're going. Fancy a ride?'

Ichigo seized Kish's hand. 'Yes!'

Ryou gave a grim smile. 'This way.'

**A/N: REVIEW!!!**


	7. Stand Down

**Chapter 7: 'Stand Down'**

**A/N: For this chapter I have invented a cliff. Deal with it.  I think I may have also rambled excessively in the first scene, but there it is. And though Ryou may be supposed to be fifteen in cannon, but I always saw him as more like twenty. No fifteen-year-old I know has his deep voice, style (ahem) and confidence around girls. So it's thoroughly legal for him to drive a sports car.**

'Cyniclons!'

In the fourth dimension ranks of Alien soldiers stood to attention, waiting for their commander, to speak.

'Today is the day when we shall begin to realise the dream that has sustained us for a hundred generations! Today is the day when we shall strike the first blow against the usurpers on our blue planet. They sprawl over its surface and destroy it, but now we shall drive them out! Within a year this world shall be ours once more, and then every soldier who fought this first battle will be remembered a hero.'

He paused and pressed a button on the computer in front of him, flashing up a three-dimensional hologram of Tokyo Bay, and when he spoke again his tone was more businesslike.

'The human force is assembled here, on this cliff top. We shall meet them in the air, here. Bishamon-san will lead our first unit round to attack on the left flank, and Pai-san will attack with the second unit on the right. The third unit will wait until they are encircled and then push forward with me from the front. Remember, these creatures fight with brute strength and massed weapons. They have no flight, no teleportation. Stand firm, do not be daunted by their first onslaught, and prioritise their large weapons. Man is a coward. When he sees powers he does not understand, he flees from them. This victory will be ours. Together!'

He flung his fist into the air and led the Cyniclons in a cheer. It was a terrifying sound, a transport of bloodlust. There was only one small pool of silence and stillness: Pai. He floated behind the Cyniclon commander, grim and unmoving, not joining in the roar. Those who looked at him put his silence down to strength; they knew that their own exhilaration was one step removed from panic, but here was someone so brave that he did not need a cheer to relieve his feelings, someone who seemed practically bored. There was many a young soldier there who would have risked anything to win his approval.

Pai stared blankly at his cheering men, sick at heart. He had no stomach for the fight; he was simply carrying out his orders mechanically, trying not to think.

'This guy is stupid,' Tart said, floating behind Pai, still in his old cross-legged pose despite everything. 'Those humans know how to fight alright. Some of them, anyway.'

'It's no use telling people to fight a creature that is to all intents and purposes the same as them, little one,' Pai whispered back. 'They can't do it. You have to lie, and say that they're animals.'

'Did I say he was wrong about that? I just said they can fight.'

That child was stubborn to the end.

'Pai-san,' the commander said, calling Pai's attention away from Tart. He beckoned him closer and spoke quietly. 'These Tokyo Mew Mews. How much do we have to fear from them?'

'I think it quite possible that their leader will refuse to fight,' Pai replied. 'Her friend the porpoise-Mew may follow her, or at the very least she will be reluctant to shed blood. This is well for us. She is very skilled, perhaps the most dangerous of all if were she not hampered by compassion.'

The commander frowned a little; he was not liking all this talk of humans refusing to fight for other reasons that fear, but he said nothing.

'I am not sure which way the lion tamarind will jump, but the blue lorikeet will fight, and the wolf.' A shadow crossed Pai's face. 'We must be especially wary of her. The rest rely on each other for most of their strength, but even alone she is a formidable warrior.'

'And these two will fight even if their leader does not?' the commander probed, puzzled.

'I called her their leader, but they all answer to their creators, Shirogane and Akasaka. These two are cowards, and skulk behind the lines, but they will send everything they have to send against us. They will never surrender the planet, and the wolf and lorikeet at least have no cause to disobey them.'

'Right.' The commander pondered for a moment. 'So some of them may not fight, but we can't risk it. I will send a stealth detachment down to flush them out.' He turned away sharply. 'Hoy! You there!' He was done with Pai. The tall Cyniclon stared after him with dead eyes, until he was reminded of Taruto.

'Harden yourself, my young friend,' he said, ignoring the boy's squawk of denial. It was plain that he wasn't going to hold up much longer. He should have stayed with Kish, and then the two could have stopped each other from doing anything stupid. Pai gestured towards the hologram. 'Imagine. Your brother and sister, playing in one of those gardens down there. That is what is important now.'

Tart swallowed and did not answer.

* * *

Ryou lead the short sprint to his car and vaulted into the driver's seat, revving up the engine as Kish and Ichigo flung themselves into the back. He headed off at full speed, shooting down the road and spinning across the empty intersection. Ichigo glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It read 05.09.

They had exactly six minutes.

Ryou was talking into a radio attached to the dashboard. 'Listen, girls, there's been a change of plan. I'm heading over with Ichigo now. If the Cyniclons arrive before we do, you've got to do everything you can to stop the two sides from fighting. Tell Keiichiro to wait for my call…no, don't argue! I'll explain it all later. Yes, Pudding, I very much hope Taru-taru will be there. If you can talk to him, it'll make our job a whole lot easier. Good luck, girls.' He put down the radio.

_Good luck, girls_, Ichigo thought. _That's what he always says, and now look_.

Kish took her hand in his and caressed it gently, slowly exploring every line and crease of her skin. The simple touch seemed somehow more desperate than all their kissing. They were running out of time.

The car began to bounce as it left the road for the gravelled track that ran through the nature reservation towards Tokyo Bay. Ryou winced at a particularly hard jolt; Ichigo knew he would never have driven his precious sports car down here normally. She gazed out of the window at the thick foliage pressing in to the very edge of the track. _I used to come here with Masaya all the time_, she thought, but she couldn't summon up the gentle fondness she'd felt beneath her window, now that Kish was here. She felt almost ashamed of that calm, defeated mood. What memory could be more precious than him? What could be more important than the fight that was before her?

'Scared, Kitty-cat?' Kish jibed, but she noticed that he looked pretty green himself. Interesting, she hadn't known that aliens turned green. She looked at the clock.

5.13.

'Kisshu?' she whispered, 'what will you do if they won't listen?'

'Stand in the way till they shoot me down, I guess,' he shrugged. Ichigo thought she heard Ryou snort very quietly.

'Ichigo, if this doesn't come off, I want you to get yourself out.'

'And how's she supposed to do that?' Ryou interrupted. 'We are confined to this planet, you know.'

Ichigo kicked hard at the back of his seat, earning a muffled 'oof!'

'It would be _tragic_,' Ryou said loudly, 'if I were to crash the car now, wouldn't it?'

Ichigo sat back and ground her teeth.

They drew clear of the trees and pulled into the reserve's car park. Ichigo swallowed. It was full of army vehicles. A wooden fence ran around the car park, blocking it off from the cliff. There was a sign tacked to the fence:

DANGER. UNSTABLE EDGE.

5.14.

Ryou jumped out of the car and craned his neck to see up the hill. At the very crest the military were assembling, checking sniperscopes, setting up mortars, scanning the sky through binoculars. In front of the first rank the land cut off, plunging in a screaming drop towards the beach below. Ichigo glanced at Kish and saw him pale at this display of human might.

'Koneko-chan,' he whispered.

'Right,' Ryou said. A muscle was jumping in his jaw. 'We've got to –'

5.15.

The air above the cliff rippled, and the ranks of the alien army began to appear.

Row on row of them shimmered into view, above the heads of the humans, floating over the crashing surf as though it were the easiest thing in the world. To her they all looked like Pai, lean and hard muscled, clad in dark trousers and shirts, each armed with a fan and a long knife and all with an identical expression of steel. They looked horribly vulnerable opposite the special servicemen with their heavy helmets and guns, and yet she saw that they were dangerous too. The humans would have no way to fight them except to sit and shoot till there were none left. There was simply no way that these two sides could _engage_ in battle. It was going to be slaughter.

'I need to find Keiichiro,' Ryou muttered distractedly. 'See if he can get a message through to the commander to call off the attack. You two, do whatever you can to stop the fight!'

'Ryou-san, what do we do?' Ichigo cried. She was hyperventilating now, panic clawing at her insides.

'I'm not sure.' Ryou was already running away, calling back over his shoulder. 'Try the "fling yourself between the lines with a cry of nooooooo!" approach first.'

And then he was gone.

'What the hell am I supposed to do with that?' Ichigo screamed.

'Ichigo, hurry!' Kish dived forwards and grabbed her. 'It's safe now…' And he teleported.

The first thing she saw was the edge of the cliff. It leapt out at her, a metre from her feet, and she could have sworn she saw pebbles fall from it and go tumbling down into the sea below. It was a glorious morning now, sunny and crisp without a cloud in the sky. And yet she was standing in shadow.

She forced herself to look up and examine the Cyniclons floating above her in the clear morning air, blotting out the sun. She saw that they were not like Pai. Tall and cold, alright, and noble, but where Pai's demeanour had always been tempered with curiosity, theirs held only cold resolve. No, they were not curious. They had closed their minds, and come to kill.

'No!'

She had almost forgotten Kish. She had forgotten in her horrified fascination that there could be anything to set against these ranks of cold-eyed aliens, but now his voice ripped out beside her.

'Cyniclons!' he yelled. 'Deep Blue has betrayed you! You're heading to your deaths!'

She heard a command from behind her, and suddenly recalled the hundred-odd machine guns pointing at her back.

'Sergeant, get that girl out of the way. Fire on my command –' The soldier speaking stopped as a sudden commotion broke out among the ranks.

'Stop!'

'I'm sorry, excuse me, please let me through…'

'Put that down NOW, na no da!'

'I beg your pardon, I insist that you let me pass!'

And there they were, her fellow Mew Mews, struggling forward through the lines. They made it to the front and turned their backs on the Cyniclons, spreading their arms to form a living barrier. Ichigo felt the rush of strength that always came to her when they were together.

'Look at them!' Kish was shouting, gesturing towards the human army. 'You can't win this fight! Deep Blue never intended you to win! He's matched you evenly with the humans because he wants the blue planet for himself. If you try to fight now, you'll all be killed!'

'_Don't_. You. Dare,' Zakuro said, forcing a human back with a burst of energy. 'You fool, he's trying to call them off! Just wait!'

The Cyniclon commander was opening his mouth to speak when another alien flew down in front of him. With a jolt, Ichigo recognised Pai.

'Please, _sama_, let me deal with this,' he said respectfully, and then turned to Kish. 'Kisshu, I ordered you to remain behind!'

'It was not an order my conscience would allow me to obey,' Kish replied calmly.

'Your conscience…?' the commander echoed, but Pai talked over him.

'And what is this story you bring now? Deep Blue wants to kill us all? Preposterous!'

'That's true,' Kish countered. 'But true or not…it's beside the point. Even if we could slaughter these humans, it would be wrong.'

'Wrong?' The commander's voice was incredulous. A sort of rustling murmur travelled along the lines of the Cyniclons.

'Bad mo-ove,' Ichigo muttered out of the corner of her mouth, but Kish plunged on.

'These humans are sentient creatures trying to build lives for themselves. Their capacity for love and compassion is equal to our own. We never gave them a chance to resolve this matter peacefully, and yet there were those among them who considered it. You see her.' He pointed to Lettuce, who, despite the circumstances, blushed. 'She was always reluctant to fight, even to save her own life, even to protect the man she loved. Several times she begged Pai-san to halt his attacks and talk, and it was we Cyniclons who would not listen. I believe that it would be possible for us to live together in harmony.'

'And why do you believe this?' the commander asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

Kish wrapped his arm around Ichigo's waist and answered boldly:

'Because this girl and I are in love.'

It was more than a rustle this time, it was a collective gasp of shock.

'Kisshu…' Pai said, shaking his head slowly.

'It's the truth and you know it.'

'Enough of this!' the Cyniclon commander shouted roughly, turning away to face his army. 'Deep Blue-sama warned us that these humans were devious, and look how true it is! They have already claimed one of our finest, though not by the sword. Kisshu, move aside or we will kill you along with them.'

'No!' Kish cried, clutching Ichigo tighter. She could tell that he was trying to pull her behind him, but resisted and stood her ground. 'Pai! You know it's true, you know you do!' His eyes travelled along from Pai and then widened. 'Taruto!'

'Eiiiii…' Tart faltered. Ichigo stared at him in horror as he floated above her, so painfully thin with his childish bunches either side of his face. How could they let him come, he was just a kid! And speaking of kids…

'TARU-TARU!'

She saw a blur of yellow as Pudding shot past her with a joyful shout. Mint lunged for her and missed. Pudding leapt up towards Tart, her arms wide and ready to embrace.

'NO!' Ichigo screamed.

Pai was plummeting down to meet Pudding, countering what he took for an attack against one of his comrades. Tart was frozen, not knowing what to do or where to turn. Ichigo felt Kish's arm disappear from around her waist as he responded to her scream, launching himself into the air towards Pai and Pudding. Another Cyniclon had pulled Tart backwards out of Pudding's reach, and now she was reaching the height of her leap with nothing to grab onto, and Pai was bearing down on her…Kish shot towards them, grasping at Pudding as Pai swiped down with his fan, trying to catch her and force Tart back at the same time…

Time seemed to stop. Kish was frozen in front of Pai, his arms flung out. The two might have been embracing. Ichigo stared up, her mouth hanging open, as bright light haloed out around his body. Then Kish fell elegantly backwards and plummeted like a shot bird, the energy of Pai's attack still flickering across his chest.

'KISSHU!' Ichigo shrieked.

Pai did not move as Tart broke free of the Cyniclon who had pulled him back and dived beneath his feet, catching Pudding as she began to fall. The tall alien was quite still, staring at his fan as though surprised to find it in his hand, the beginnings of horror dawning on his face.

'Ichigo! Ichigo!' Lettuce cried, shaking her, and Ichigo realised that she was still screaming. She forced a fist into her mouth and sagged in Lettuce's arms, trying to stop the frantic noises ripping from her mouth.

'Taru-taru!' Pudding shouted again, but it was a cry of terror this time.

'Kisshu!' Tart shouted, his voice mirroring Ichigo's. 'You idiot, this is your fault!' He dropped Pudding onto the cliff, fell to his knees beside her and began to cry.

'Taru-taru, I'm sorry, please don't cry,' Pudding begged, shaking his shoulders. Tart did not stop or look up.

'No…' Pai whispered, looking up suddenly. He looked livid, ready to lash out at whatever presented itself first. He wasn't the only one: the whole Cyniclon army was swaying and muttering like a forest in high winds. One of their kind had been struck down, and instinct told them to attack, but whom?

'Please! Pai-san!' Lettuce called up to them, her arms still around Ichigo. 'Please listen to us, this has to stop now!'

The Cyniclon commander ignored her. His eyes were on Pudding, who was embracing Tart as he rocked back and forth with sobs, and his expression was perplexed.

'_Sama_?' another Cyniclon asked. 'The men…Pai-san…should I give the order to – '

'Stand down.'

The command came not from in front but from behind, ringing out over the field on the loud hailer.

'Ryou,' Lettuce whispered. 'He and Akasaka-san got through…'

The Earth soldiers were wearing expressions ranging from disbelief to panic, but then, as one, they slowly lowered their weapons.

The Cyniclons did a collective double take.

Then Ichigo saw Keiichiro pushing his way through the crowd to the cliff edge. He stepped out in front of the army and bowed formally, placing his hands together.

'Welcome, Cyniclons,' he said. 'My name is Akasaka Keiichiro, and I come with an invitation to parley from our captain. If you would accompany me to his tent, we can begin a discussion of terms immediately. It is possible that we can resolve this without bloodshed. Will you come?'

Ichigo held her breath, and around her she sensed a thousand other beings doing the same. She was desperate to act, to try and find Kish, but she didn't dare move when things hung so finely in the balance. She could almost _feel_ Keiichiro putting forth all his powers of civility, trying to both appear unthreatening and command respect. It seemed as though hours had past before the Cyniclon leader spoke.

'Very well. Bishamon, bring two of your men and come with me. I will speak with your leader, human.'

Keiichiro gave a surreptitious sigh of relief as he bowed again. 'I thank you, _sama_. I will escort your men to – ICHIGO!'

The instant the parley was assured, Ichigo had started to run.

Ignoring the shouts of Keiichiro and her fellow Mews, she sprinted towards the cliff path. It was a narrow, eroded track cut into the cliff face, almost sheer in places. Ichigo hit it at full tilt and nearly lost her footing. She scrabbled to stay upright, descending amid a shower of pebbles. Only one thought rang in her mind:

_Get to Kish_.

The path levelled out and her feet hit the sand. It was hard and wet right up to the cliff, and her feet made a smacking sound as they pounded against it. She ran forward, eyes hunting from side to side, and then she saw him, lying spread-eagled in the shallow surf.

She flew to his side, splashing onto her knees in the water and bending over him. She pulled his head into her lap and pushed his dark hair aside, feeling frantically for a pulse. For a moment her fingers pressed fruitlessly against his icy skin, but then she felt the slow, faint beat, and at the same time he stirred and said weakly:

'Ko…Koneko-chan?'

'Kisshu,' she breathed, blinking back tears as she stared at him in horror. His skin was deathly pale and a deep gash ran across his abdomen. The heat of the fan's blast had partially cauterised the wound, but it was still leaking blood. Ichigo's stomach twisted as she took in the burns that surrounded it.

'…Kish,' she repeated. His eyes, deep, burnished gold, flickered open and focussed on her face.

'How…can anything…be so…beautiful?' He reached upwards and just managed to brush her face with the tips of his fingers before his hand fell back to his side.

'I'm…I'm here, Kisshu-kun,' she whispered through her tears.

'Hold my hand, Koneko-chan, I'm so cold…'

She wrapped his icy fingers in her hands and brought them to her lips, curling over them as a fresh wave of tears welled up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pai alight on the beach and take a hesitant step forward, but she paid him no heed, all her attention focussed on the boy in her lap. Did she have the strength to even drag him out of the water?

Another Cyniclon landed beside Pai.

'She is weeping for him,' he said slowly.

'Yes.' Pai's reply was almost vague.

'She truly grieves for him…' the other alien trailed off. Ichigo could hear another sound growing louder in the background. Thump thump thump thump thump. It sounded like running footsteps…

'Ichigo!' Suddenly Ryou was there, falling to his knees beside her. 'What are you doing? He needs first aid.'

'Ryou, help me to move him –'

'Can't. You start dragging him around, you're going to open up the wound more. You have to staunch the bleeding!'

'Right.' Ichigo's hands fluttered over her costume, trying to find a bit of spare material to tear off. She would go naked if she had to, but she'd never fully realised before how skimpy the costumes were…

'Here.' Ryou pulled off his jacket, folded it expertly and placed it over Kish's wound. 'Hold it there as firmly as you can. I'm going to get help.' He stood and took off back up the beach.

More aliens were landing behind Pai now. They seemed unwilling to step past him and get too close to her, or to him for that matter.

'Where has the human gone?' one of them demanded.

'He said he was going to fetch help…a first aid unit…'

'For Kisshu?'

'Yes…do you think Kisshu-san was telling the truth?'

'About the humans or about Deep Blue-sama?'

'Both.'

'Yes I do.'

'But…'

'Think. As soon as one of us speaks out he gets shot. You know Pai is Deep Blue's man…'

Ichigo heard the puzzled voices as she held the jacket to Kish's wound, which despite her best efforts was still releasing a thin stream of blood into the lapping water. A part of her brain was trying to tell her that what they were saying was good for her cause, even the things against Pai, but she couldn't make herself focus on anything other than the alien in her arms. His eyes were closed now and she couldn't even be sure that he was still conscious, but as she looked he spoke again.

'Ichigo…when they see what you're doing…they'll make peace…'

She nodded, ashamed that he could think of that when she couldn't.

'Yes, Kish. Yes they will.'

'Don't let your men kill them.'

'Don't worry, we're onto it.' Ichigo looked up. Ryou was back. He took one look at the jacket Ichigo was holding in place and took it from her, the muscles in his arms standing out as he pressed it down twice as hard as she had done.

'It's alright, love,' Ichigo murmured. With nothing else to do, she was free to take his hand and stroke his hair soothingly out of his eyes. 'Just rest, it will all be fine.' His lips curved upwards in a peaceful smile when she called him that. The corners of Ichigo's mouth twitched as she blinked back fresh tears. He looked so calm and so beautiful, all the strain and sarcasm and anger smoothed away. She felt a little guilty at cutting Ryou out like this, but nothing could truly shatter the love she felt in that moment. She bent her head forward, leaning over Kish so that her hair screened them off in their own private world.

'Pai, where is your general?'

There was no sound, no breath of wind to announce his presence, yet somehow he was there. Ichigo felt Kish tense under her, and the next moment his hoarse whisper confirmed her fears.

'_Deep Blue_.'

He started up, but Ryou pushed him roughly down again.

'Lie still!'

Ichigo's hands tightened around Kish's shoulders, but he pushed her away with surprising strength.

'Ichigo, I'll be fine. Stand. _Fight_.'

She stumbled to her feet and planted herself in front of Kish, fixing her eyes on Deep Blue. He was paying her no attention, his back turned towards her as he questioned Pai.

So this was Deep Blue.

He had the same pointed ears and pale skin as the rest of the Cyniclons. His hair was dark and longer than Keiichiro's, flowing loose past his waist in gentle waves. He wore a long blue robe whose hem brushed the sand. She couldn't see his face, but his voice made her skin crawl.

'Where is your general?'

'He is in parley with the human leader, Deep Blue-sama,' Pai answered stiffly.

'In parley? Impossible! Where are your men? Standing on the cliff in disorder? I ordered you to fight; what is this desertion?'

'Kisshu-san said –' a young alien began, but Pai clamped a hand down on his shoulder hard enough to raise bruises, and he fell silent.

'Deep Blue-sama, we prepared to fight but the humans seemed willing to negotiate,' another Cyniclon said. It was the one who had first noticed Ichigo's tears. He spoke reasonably, being deliberately un-provocative. 'It is not a possibility we considered before, but it seemed…preferable.'

When Deep Blue spoke again, his voice was urgent and confidential.

'You know these creatures cannot be trusted. It is a trick, it must be. Look how they have already beguiled Kisshu-san, and now there he lies, dying.' Pai flinched, and Deep Blue reached out to lay a hand on is shoulder. 'It is a tragedy, but yours is the kind of loyalty I need,' he added. Whatever conviction Pai had ever had of the need to make peace seemed to be failing rapidly, whether against his will or not. Ichigo knew she ought to step forward and challenge Deep Blue now, but she couldn't seem to break the fascination of the scene, or maybe it was just the knowledge that once she declared herself it would only be a matter of time before he decided to kill her. 'Poor fool,' he was sighing. 'I know of the falsehoods he brought to bear against me, results of their siren call.'

'Deep Blue.'

Zakuro landed hard at the base of the cliff and took a step forward. The other Mews were right behind her. Tart came skimming down behind them and hurried to stand behind Pai, his eyes fixed yearningly on Kish. Zakuro shook back her purple hair and continued to speak. 'I come on behalf of the people of Tokyo, to offer you my hand in peace,' she said. The words didn't sound like a treaty though, they sounded like a challenge, a game of cat and mouse which she was only going to play for a little longer. Her eyes bored straight into Deep Blue's, hard and challenging. Her expression said quite clearly: _the game's up_.

_Don't, Zakuro, don't be so confident_…

'Deep Blue-sama,' the other Cyniclon spoke up again. 'They don't want to fight. Please, let's accept.'

Deep Blue remained silent for the longest time, his eyes fixed on Zakuro's face. He looked like a fox hemmed in by dogs, hesitating, knowing that whichever way he jumped he would be caught. But Zakuro would not allow him infinite time. Her lips spread into a slow, grim smile.

'So that's how it is,' she said softly. All around them a long, slow sigh travelled through the Cyniclons, a subtle changing of the wind. They were with Zakuro now. Deep Blue's eyes remained on her, but he was obviously aware of his army's aggression refocusing on him.

_Oh, Zakuro_, Ichigo thought. Did she not realise that what she had cornered was not a fox, but a wolf like herself?

'Tokyo Mew Mew,' Deep Blue whispered. He turned slowly until he faced Ichigo, and she realised with a thrill of horror that she had been wrong in her assumptions. His attention had been focussed on her all the time, even as he talked to Pai.

'See how easily they turn,' he hissed. 'Back…and forth again. You are the ones who are causing all the trouble.'

Ichigo's fingers curled around the Strawberry Bell that had appeared between them.

It was a very short fight.

Faster than a snake Deep Blue raised his arms, flicking both his hands upwards. A sheet of light shot up behind him, spanning the beach from sea to cliff, and Ichigo realised that it was now impossible for anyone, Cyniclon or human, to come to their aid. She cried out her attack but his hand shot forward, turning the energy bolt aside as easily as she had brushed the hair from Kish's eyes. The light of the barricade blinded her. Her next shot went wide. For a moment everything was a confusion of white light, punctuated with flickering colours and the battle cries of her friends. Then she felt something close around her throat.

'Put down your weapons.'

That voice, now seeping into the air right beside her ear. She cringed away from it and her feet kicked in empty space. He was holding her up in the air with one arm, his fingers tight around her neck, constricting her windpipe. As she struggled he lifted her higher into the air, showing her clearly to the others.

'Put down your weapons.'

'No!' Ryou shouted. Of course, he was still here, tending to Kisshu. 'No! Girls –'

Zakuro bent down and laid her cross-shaped spear in the sand. The others followed suit.

'Now step back and put your hands up.' She got the feeling that Deep Blue was enjoying himself, milking the cliché for all it was worth. His voice almost purred. The Mews clasped their hands behind their heads and stepped back against the cliff face. Lettuce's eyes were swimming with tears.

'Did you really think,' Deep Blue whispered, 'that just because you could defeat a few love-struck children you would be a match for me? Were you honestly naïve enough to believe that all your talk of right and wrong, of morals and _love_, would be enough to turn an entire race from its purpose? When I have defeated Earth's champions, they _will_ follow me.' He turned his head, his baleful blue eyes boring straight into Ichigo's. 'You're _great romance_ has come to nothing,' he spat. 'Kisshu cannot help you. Taruto is nothing but a child, however he may feel, and _you_…' his gaze fell on Lettuce. 'Well, I suppose in the end you just weren't good enough, were you?'

Lettuce began to cry in earnest, but she returned his stare unfalteringly. For Ichigo one longing surpassed all others at that moment: to run to Lettuce, embrace her once before the end and swear that what he said was a lie. But it seemed she couldn't even have that. Deep Blue was turning, and next time he spoke his voice took on a soldierly, businesslike tone.

'Well done, Pai-san. Thanks to your swift and timely action, disaster has been averted. We will continue on schedule. Take care of this, please.' Because there was one other person inside the barrier besides the Mews, Ryou and the incapacitated Kish.

Pai.

And Deep Blue was holding her out towards him.

Pai didn't look like he considered killing Kish to be timely action. He looked sick. But at the order his face cleared and he bowed, then went and retrieved one of the thin, lethal blades that lay beside Kish's prone form. As he straightened up, Ryou got to his feet and stepped forward. Pai twisted his arm away and knocked him down without sparing him so much as a glance. He approached Ichigo, who began to struggle hard and instinctively as she realised fully what was happening.

'Ichigo-onee-chan!' Pudding screamed.

Pai wound his hand into Ichigo's hair and lifted her away from Deep Blue, raising the dragon sword as he did so. For an instant he paused, and something like terror flashed across his face. Then suddenly he twisted his upper body, heaving Ichigo over his shoulder and slamming her down into the sand behind him.

The same motion carried the blade into Deep Blue's chest.

The alien gave a piercing, other-worldly shriek, flinging back his head and writhing on the blade. Pai grasped the hilt in both hands, his whole body braced to hold the weapon in place. Deep Blue wrenched vainly at his arms and then thrust forward along the sword, clawing at his face and neck. His nails rent Pai's cheek till they drew blood, and Pai craned his neck away and hung on.

Deep Blue was gouging his nails into the backs of Pai's hands now, trying to break his hold. Pai let go of the hilt with one hand and seized his wrist, trying to force it away. For a moment they wrestled, hands clasped high above their heads. Pai bent his knees and put his whole weight behind the blade, twisting it Deep Blue's chest. Deep Blue spasmed and coughed, bringing up blood, but his strength did not fail. He grew stronger.

Pai ducked his head between his arms, trying to protect himself from the worst of the onslaught and maintain his grip on the sword as they lurched too and fro. Ichigo could see that his strength was failing, but she couldn't seem to move and help. She recoiled backwards as Pai's foot skidded in the sand an inch from her face. Deep Blue gave a screech of pure rage, and his hands closed around Pai's throat. Pai gagged and staggered backwards, nearly tumbling over Ichigo as he did so, thrashing against the grip that was harder than steel. The blade jerked and slid half an inch sideways, into Deep Blue's heart.

There was a hideous, resounding shriek and Deep Blue flung his head and arms backwards, light erupting out of his chest. Pai gave a constricted scream as energy lanced up the knife and into his hand. He recoiled, jerking the weapon free of his master's body, but the hilt continued to burn him as though it were made of living flame. Deep Blue gave one last cry and fell forward, bearing Pai beneath him. He jerked and flailed, his clawed hands scrabbling in the sand at Pai's feet, then curled in on himself as his body was engulfed in an all-consuming blaze of light.

The paralysis left Ichigo.

'Guys, help me!' she screamed, tugging frantically at Pai's shoulders. Tendrils of light were reaching forward from Deep Blue's body, winding round his feet and ankles. Zakuro rushed forwards, seizing him under the arms and dragging him clear.

'_CONTAIN IT!_' Lettuce roared, raising her castanets. 'Ribbon Lettuce rush!'

'Pudding Ring Inferno!'

'Ribbon Mint Echo!

'Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!'

Ichigo gritted her teeth and forced every ounce of power she had through her weapon, meeting Deep Blue's life-force full on. It was like being hit by a bus. Just the initial impact exhausted her so much that she thought she would just lie down and surrender, but then she felt the power of her friends running into her.

'Mew Mew power EXTENSION!'

It didn't seem to make her any stronger, or lessen the pain, but it reminded her of why she had to hand on, hang on like grim death and never let go. Because of dear, sweet Lettuce, and Mint and Zakuro, and little Pudding who was so unfailingly valiant and too young to die, and Pai's sudden and momentous courage, and Kisshu…

Kisshu. His name was sweeter and bitterer than anything else in the world. It beat in her ears when she ran out of strength and battled on with pure willpower, it roared through her veins when every second that she hung on seemed like an impossibility. It filled her up and compelled her to fight on. For Kisshu…for Kisshu…

She only knew that it was over when there was suddenly nothing to push against anymore. Her hands stayed locked into position around her Strawberry Bell, unable to move after holding for so long. She toppled forward across Pai and lay still, one thought in her mind:

_I am never going to move again_.

Beside her Zakuro was down on one knee in the sand. The haughty wolf Mew would not allow herself to fall as Ichigo had done, but it was plain from the slump of her shoulders and the way she shook that it was only a mockery of strength. Around them the other Mews sank to the ground or leaned trembling against the cliff, all their strength expended.

Lettuce was the first to recover. She walked over to the body of Deep Blue and started in shock, then drew its robes over its head before the others could see it. Every motion was slow, not out of reverence but because it took all her courage to make herself move at all. Then she plodded over to Ichigo and Pai. She pulled Ichigo off the alien and rolled her onto her back, speaking her name urgently. Ichigo's eyes flickered open and she mouthed:

'Lettuce-chan.'

Lettuce nodded and turned to Zakuro.

'Zakuro-onee-chan? Can you hear me?'

Zakuro raised her head and, drawing on reserves of energy she hadn't known existed, smiled.

'Pai-san?' Lettuce whispered.

Pai drew in a great, shuddering breath and opened his eyes, raising his fingers to the bloody scratches on his cheek.

'Retasu!' he gasped. 'What have I done?'

'Sshhh.' Lettuce pushed him gently back down. 'Lie still. You saved us all.'

'My…my people…' his voice broke.

'The humans won't hurt them, Pai-kun. We won't let them, I promise.'

'_Retasu!_' he said again, clutching at her hand as she made to withdraw it.

'It's OK,' she reiterated, slowly kneeling back down beside him. 'You did right.'

'I know, I just…' Pai sank back into the sand and began to weep. Lettuce pulled him into her arms and cradled him against her.

'You just can't believe it yet. Don't try. You've done enough.' She raised her voice.

'Minto? Are you alright?'

'Yes.'

'Find Pudding. Help her.'

'I…I can't.' Mint's voice was weak.

'Yes. Yes you can. Get up.'

'Pudding-chan?' Mint called faintly.

'Pudding is here, na no da. I'm not hurt.'

'Good,' Lettuce said. 'Pai, just lie for a minute until you feel better. You too, Ichigo, Zakuro. I should get a medical unit and…'

'You don't have to do all the work, Lettuce-imouto-chan,' Zakuro said with weak humour, getting unsteadily to her feet. 'Come on, I can – '

Suddenly Pai struggled up on to his elbows, his eyes meeting Ichigo's.

'Kisshu,' he rasped. Ichigo stared back at him, feeling her exhaustion give way to a new, panic-fuelled strength.

'Kisshu,' she echoed as everything came flooding back. She scrambled to her feet and took a step forward, but she couldn't seem to find her footing and next second the ground was rushing towards her.

_Kisshu-kun, no_! The thought blared in her mind, but she couldn't seem to speak it no matter how she tried. She barely felt Zakuro catching her and lowering her to her knees; her mind was too full of horror. She felt sick with tiredness and her thoughts swirled like some kind of fever dream, a nightmarish chaos that she couldn't break out of. For a moment she thought they were walking and laughing beneath blossoming cherry trees, but the moment was tainted with the knowledge that it was false, and she couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't find any way out of the darkness…

'Akasaka-san, I can't bring her round.'

She could feel sand, damp and gritty between her fingers. Zakuro was kneeling behind her, holding her up. It was spotting with rain now, cold, hard drops pattering around her.

'Ichigo, shush, I swear it's OK.'

She had never heard Zakuro sound so shaken. Ichigo felt her sister's fingers pull through her hair, and was becoming aware of some kind of pain in her throat, and then she was turned onto her back and Keiichiro bent over her.

'Ichigo, it's over, you're fine,' he murmured soothingly.

'KISSHU!' she howled. The cry rasped in her throat and she realised she must have been screaming the same thing for who knew how long. From somewhere close at hand she could hear Pai's ragged breathing, and Lettuce begging him to lie back and rest.

'Kish will be fine, I promise, try to relax now,' Keiichiro said. It was the same calming voice that had spoken to her so many times before, that had reassured her when she first became a Mew, calmed customers and defused a thousand quarrels. The same voice that was always promising things, its one aim to keep the peace.

'No, no!' she screamed, knocking away his hands as they reached out to quiet her. 'Kish!'

'The paramedics are working on him. Ryou is with him right now. Ichigo, he _will_ be fine.'

Ichigo breathed in deeply. Somehow that little piece of information did more to calm her than all his other assurances. Ryou was with Kish. She trusted Ryou. Ryou would never let any little thing go wrong that could be done right. Her panic faded a fraction, and with it went the last of her strength. She did not pass out. She was vaguely aware of Keiichiro lifting her in his arms and beginning to carry her up the beach, of Pai struggling to his feet to console a stricken Taruto, of how some Cyniclons hissed words who's meanings she could guess as he walked unaided past them, while others raised a ragged cheer, of Zakuro ordering a group of human soldiers to let them by. But most of it had little more clarity than a dream.

A/N: Yup, the traditional 'wound Kish terribly and have him sit out the last round while Ichigo weeps over his broken body' cliché strikes again. And, as Ryou pointed out, the 'fling yourself between the lines' cliché. Not to mention the 'bad guy has a change of heart' cliché…oh whatever, I am just pathetically forestalling criticism here. I apologise for making Ichigo so useless in the last bit, I just didn't want her raining on Pai's parade.


	8. I Knew I'd Wake up in Heaven

**Chapter 7: 'I knew I'd Wake up in Heaven'**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own. Never have, never will (never say never). I haven't even watched all the episodes yet.

**A/N: This is, we **_**hope **_***cowers away from bunnies* the final chapter. It therefore contains EXCESSIVE fluff and tying up of loose ends. You have been warned. Sick bags are under your seats. **

**This chapter is dedicated to:**

Essence of Gold–** 'Write! Write faster! This is weird! You spelt name wrong! Hahahaha, Deep Blue's death scene is funny!' – for basically being an awesome slave-driving beta, **

Fireflies Glow **and **Safaia Bara**, for their long, detailed reviews, with many thanks to**

Strawberry Kousagi

The Forgotten Creatures

Mystical Water

Booboo-nyaa

Clara954

Kitterfly

Rizu Neko Chan

A fan (thanks for your review)

Crazy for vampires **and **

Ricco Latte Mew

**I love you all!**

He was blind. His mouth was parched. There was a ringing in his ears and his chest throbbed and burned in time with his pulse. But in his his nostrils was the sweet smell of strawberries.

'Ichigo,' he whispered. His hand reached up through the pain, and met something good. Her skin. He didn't know why she was there or how long he had, but nothing could negate the pleasure of touching her. And then reality – the sweet, blessed paradise that was reality – came crashing back on him as her lips met his.

'Ichigo!' he gasped again.

'Kisshu,' she whispered, not breaking the kiss even to speak. 'Oh, Kisshu.'

Her voice compelled him to open his eyes. He found her face, and saw it crumple with relief as her gaze met his. 'Oh, Kisshu,' she whispered again, her fingers feverishly stroking his hand, 'thank God...'

'Hiya, Kitty-cat,' he said faintly, smiling as he let his eyes fall shut again. 'Looks like...we're all alive...after all.'

She was shaking her head slowly, her mouth trembling. 'Kisshu-kun, I was so afraid.'

'I wasn't.' He reached up to stroke her cheek, gazing at her, drinking her in. 'I knew I'd wake up in heaven, either way.'

She smiled through the tears that were falling freely now, making her chocolate eyes sparkle and her lashes stick together. It would have been an unbearable sight if she hadn't been weeping for him, and even so he reached out in his haste to comfort her. 'Koneko-chan, please don't cry...'

'I can't help it!' she sobbed. 'Kish, I _love_ you...'

His heart nearly stopped when she said the words. It was as though the realisation of their mutual love was hitting him for the first time, filling everything with its light and vitality. He remembered those few short weeks without her, and shuddered. Everything had been so empty, but now...now the very air seemed golden.

'I love you too, Koneko-chan.'

She bent over him and kissed his neck, her soft, full lips brushing tenderly against his skin, dissolving more of the pain with every touch. Her reddish hair fell around him and tickled his face, her sweet perfume filled his lungs. He felt he could just lie there forever, lost in her presence, but his body was beginning to demand food and water, and niggling worries were appearing in the back of his mind as more of what had happened came back to him. He couldn't stay drifting in sweet oblivion. He had to come back to the world.

He began with the simplest problem. 'I'm thirsty, Ichigo.' She helped him sit up and drink from a glass beside his bed. Once he'd quenched his thirst he supported himself on his hands and looked around a little.

'Where am I?' he wondered.

'About a mile from where the battle was going to take place,' Ichigo told him, 'in a temporary medical facility the army set up, to deal with the casualties. Only there weren't any, besides us, so they're looking after you now. It's early afternoon, and the battle – wasn't yesterday morning, so you've been out for a little over twenty-four hours.'

He looked around the room. It was what the humans called a portacabin, a thin, temporary building raised off the ground, furnished with three more beds, all unoccupied, and a bank of medical equipment. Through the door window and door he could see that several of these buildings had been bolted together to form a makeshift hospital.

'Casualties...' he said. His brain seemed to be working slower than usual. 'Ichigo...where's Pai?'

'You were conscious for that? Don't worry, he's fine!' Ichigo assured him hastily as worry flashed across Kish's face. 'Most of your leaders are off negotiating – they're discussing it internationally now – but he wanted to stay here until you woke up. He feels horrible,' she added more quietly.

'Yeah, well.' Kish tried to smile. 'That's Pai for you. He's always so serious.'

'Be nice to him, won't you?' Ichigo said anxiously.

'You worry too much, Kitty-cat, 'course I will.' Kish suddenly winced in pain and lowered himself gingerly onto his back again. He still felt frighteningly weak. 'God, that was a tense moment.'

Ichigo shuddered involuntarily. She knew what he was talking about: those few seconds when all of them, probably Pai included, had thought she was going to be killed...when Deep Blue had seemed so horribly in control...

'Where is he?' Kish interrupted her thoughts.

'Outside, asleep I think.'

'No need to wake him yet, he must have had a pretty rough time of it, with all that energy stuff frazzling his nerve endings and so on.'

'He told me to fetch him as soon as you woke up.'

'Oh. Alright then,' Kish said carelessly, to try and disguise the fact that he actually wouldn't have minded postponing the interview for a while. It was bound to be uncomfortable. But he made no move to stop Ichigo as she got up and stepped out into the corridor. His sharp ears caught her voice murmuring, and the sound of someone getting heavily to their feet, and then Pai stepped into the room. Ichigo gave Kish an encouraging smile and closed the door softly behind him.

There were dark circles under his eyes and his expression was wary. As he turned his head Kish saw squares of fine gauze taped across his face and neck. One of his arm guards had been replaced with a bandage that twisted around his knuckles and up his arm.

'You were hurt?' he asked.

'Superficial injuries,' Pai replied. 'The doctors thought it best to keep them covered, but they should be healed within a few days.'

'That's...good,' Kish said awkwardly. Pai turned to face him full on, and Kish saw something close to panic flaring in his eyes. He blinked, and next instant Pai was at his bedside, reaching out to grasp one of his hands with crushing strength.

'Kisshu,' he choked. '...brother. I – I'm so sorry.'

'Pai,' Kish said. 'There's nothing to be sorry for.'

'I was blind, deliberately so –'

'I said there's nothing to be sorry for.'

Pai was silent for a long time, and then he said:

'Ichigo said you'd say that. But I should apologise all the same, and for more things than just injuring you. I hoped you'd forgive me.'

'Of course I would.' There was another silence and then Kish said very quietly:

'Why did you do it? How...'

'I didn't know until the last second what I was going to do,' Pai said slowly. 'I haven't been convinced of the justice of our cause for a long time, but it was simpler, easier, to just continue fighting for the side I'd been on all along. Certainly it would have been betrayal to fight with the humans, and trying to stop the battle...well, it seemed like a lost cause to me. I was a coward.'

'Maybe, but not many people would dare stick a sword in Deep Blue. You never know, he might turn out to conduct electricity or something.'

'He nearly did,' Pai said, managing to crack a smile. 'Even after he was dead, I could feel some part of him reaching out, trying instinctively to crush me...if the Mews hadn't stepped in...' He shook his head and continued in his original line. 'So anyway, I'd convinced myself that fighting with the Cyniclons was the only way forward, but then suddenly you were there, with Ichigo beside you, yelling out the truth so that I couldn't ignore it any more. I was horrified, to tell you the truth. I had counted on keeping you out of it by sending you home, but there you were, right in the front line, in terrible danger...I just never imagined that I would be the one to strike the blow. And the worst part was wondering if it had been something more than mere accident. Intentional.' Pai flinched at his own words. 'I wanted nothing more than to stop you speaking the truth that I didn't want to hear, but as soon as it was done I was horrified. However, it seemed to bring the others to their senses. It was right after you'd been hit that they agreed to talk. I was relieved; it seemed that the decision as to which side to join had been taken out of my hands. It looked likely that we'd strike some kind of truce. I thought I would let just let events unfold and accept whatever came my way...and then Deep Blue turned up. I was in despair. I knew that what he spoke and what he asked of me were wrong, but he was going to use me and regain control anyway. And then I looked at the sword and I thought, why not?'

' "Why not?" ' Kish shook his head, half admiring, half incredulous. Pai smiled sadly.

'It was the only way to make good. I didn't think about what would come afterwards. I still feel – '

'Pai, listen to me. You saved Ichigo. You prevented the war. I will never hate you for as long as I live, not now that you've done that for me.'

Pai stared down at the floor, swallowed twice, and finally nodded.

Kish struggled free of his hands and hauled himself up on one elbow. 'Look, man, don't get mushy on me!'

Pai's head snapped up and he glared. 'I wasn't going to!'

'Well good, my nerves are shot enough as it is.'

Pai got gracelessly to his feet, his scowl barely masking his smile of relief. 'You're still the same flippant, disrespectful little brat –'

'Look, Taru-taru! He's alive, na no da!'

Both aliens looked round from their 'quarrel' to see Pudding standing in the doorway, beaming, towing a very disgruntled-looking Tart in her wake.

'Pai, she won't leave me alone...' he started to complain, when Kish sat up in bed and said:

'Hiya, little guy.'

'KISH!' Tart yelled jubilantly, crossing the room in a single bound and leaping onto Kish's bed. Kish winced a little as the mattress bounced, and Pai whipped round with a cry of:

'Taruto, be more care –'

'Pai-oniichan! Pudding forgives you, na no da!'

Pai staggered as Pudding hurled herself at him, nearly knocking him over. 'Now Kisshu onii-chan is better Ichigo will be happy and we can all be friends and Pudding will be able to play with Taru-taru EVERY DAY!'

Pai glanced helplessly at Tart, who had turned quite pale, while pushing feebly at Pudding's shoulders in an attempt to prise her off him. To his relief she decided to release him of her own accord and went for Kish instead. Kish cowered into his pillows as she embraced him with a cry of:

'Kisshu-onii-chan! I'm so happy, na no da!'

He had put up with Tart jumping on him, but now he decided it was time to take advantage of his condition. 'OW, Pudding...I...aaaaahhhhh, the pain, the pain! Pai, Tart! Blacking out! Can't...take...this...'

He fell back with his eyes closed, and seconds later Pudding's weight vanished from the bed. He opened one eye and saw her wriggling in Pai's grasp.

'Kisshu! Are you alright? Has the wound re-opened?'

'I'm super-dooper, Pai,' he grinned, sitting up again.

Pai caught on and gave something that could almost have been an eye-roll. Kish winked and turned to Tart.

'So, how's it been while I've been out?'

'Oh, uh, you know…' Tart cast about for the right words. 'Nightmarish. And sort of a bit surreal, but apart from that, good.'

They turned together to look at Pudding and Tart.

'…and Pudding will try not to make you panic again and tomorrow I will show you how to make a Pudding Ring and I can borrow your fan! I always think it's pretty, your fan!'

'That will be lovely, Pudding,' Pai said awkwardly, patting her on the head.

Kish smiled.

* * *

Ichigo closed Kish's door and stepped quickly out of eavesdropping distance, so she couldn't be tempted. She was standing in a small waiting area with a row of chairs on which Pai had been asleep. Another door opened onto the corridor outside.

She stepped through this door now and began to walk, with a vague idea of seeing Lettuce, who last time she had checked had still been in bed. Exhaustion, the doctors said. The other Mews were still in the hospital as well, so as to be together and in case of any delayed reactions, though with the exception of Lettuce they were all more or less fit to get up. Well, that was what the doctors said. Mint was still swooning around saying that she felt like death. Zakuro had made it up that morning but was still looking pretty tired. Pudding, on the other hand, had been to the opposite extreme. Ryou had had to carry her most of the way to the hospital, but exactly ten hours sleep and one chocolate milkshake later she'd been up and about and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. She'd been running riot in the cafeteria with Tart the last Ichigo had seen of her.

Ichigo was interrupted in her train of thought as a stretcher was wheeled towards her down the corridor. She pressed into the wall to let it pass, peering anxiously at the occupant as she did so. Her stomach flipped. The last she'd heard the Mew Mews and Kish had been the only casualties of the battle, so who was this?

Dark hair, tanned skin turned eerily pale, long-lashed eyes closed.

_Masaya_.

She looked up and saw Ryou following the stretcher. He made to hurry past her but she called out:

'Shirogane-san?'

He turned towards her, his expression resigned, almost fearful.

'Yes, Ichigo?'

'A-aoyama-san! What's wrong with him? I didn't see the Blue Knight there! Is he –'

Ryou sighed. 'Ichigo, come with me. I'd have to explain this to you sometime anyway.'

He led her along the corridor to a room with some chairs, sat her down and began to speak.

'OK. Keiichiro and I have been doing some digging over the last twenty-four hours since the battle, and we think we understand a little more about Deep Blue's motives, and about who or what he was. For a long time he didn't have a body of his own, and now it turns out that he was linked to…possessing, we don't really understand it…your old boyfriend Aoyama.'

Ichigo gasped. '_What?_'

'Aoyama never acted against us himself, as far as I can tell, and he didn't remember anything about it at the time, but now we have a better understanding of why Deep Blue attempted to destroy both us and the Cyniclons…it seemed a pointless move however we looked at it.

'You see, our planet is rich in Mew Aqua. It's what allows it to support life. A long time ago Deep Blue considered extracting all this Mew Aqua, intending to use its power to become a god. But had he done that the Cyniclons could not have survived, and a god must have subjects. He decided to content himself with this one planet.

'But something in Aoyama's thoughts revived this old plan. You see, Aoyama sometimes feared that neither humans nor Cyniclons could ever learn to protect the Earth. He thought that maybe the only way for the planet to be saved would be if neither species existed. And when Deep Blue possessed him, the two ideas became fused into what Deep Blue eventually became to believe was a plan of his own. Neither of them could stop it. It was random parts of their consciousness, joining together into something neither of them had wanted.'

'Shirogane-san, how do you know all this?'

'I spoke to Aoyama. After Deep Blue's spirit left him he regained consciousness for a few minutes –'

'A few minutes?' Ichigo's face drained of colour. 'You mean he's –'

'He's not dead, Ichigo. His spirit was still just barely alive when I found him, so I used my Mew Aqua to stabilise his condition. But there's been a huge amount of damage. He'll need weeks to heal…Ichigo?'

Ichigo was clenching her fists on the arms of her chair, closing her eyes as she tried to control the anger welling up inside her.

'It's better this way, Ichigo. Deep Blue is gone forever; he can be himself again. He'll be fine, I promise,' Ryou said with uncharacteristic gentleness.

'I know…' She felt suddenly weak and shaky. The walls were shimmering and wavering.

'Ichigo, are you all right? Can I get you anything? A doctor?'

'N-no.' Ichigo fended him off with her hands, getting unsteadily to her feet. 'Kish…Lettuce…I need to see them now.'

* * *

'Why don't you kick the kids out and then you can say goodbye?' Kish suggested. He would never have admitted it, but he was starting to feel tired, and besides, he wanted to see Ichigo again. 'Ichigo said you were meant to be at the discussion right now; I wouldn't want to be responsible for causing an inter-planetary diplomatic incident.'

'No, I can see why not. Well, uh…come along children.'

Kish smothered his laughter in his bedclothes as Pai seized Pudding with one hand and Tart with the other and shepherded them out of the room. 'I hope you will be well soon, Kisshu,' he called, craning back over his shoulder.

'Yeah, get well soon Kish.'

'Good luck, na no da!'

Kish smiled to himself and flopped back on his pillows to wait for Ichigo.

* * *

Once outside Pai released the children and they immediately went whizzing off down the corridor. Tart even looked like he was getting into it. He sighed deeply as he felt a weight roll off his shoulders. The relief he felt, now that he'd seen Kish awake and on the road to recovery, was indescribable. He'd had ample time to talk to Ichigo, and to make the proper acquaintance of Akasaka and Shirogane. There was just one thing left that he had to do…

As if on cue, Lettuce appeared.

She looked pale and tired, but still a lot healthier than when he had last seen her, and she was dressed in her day clothes. She stopped when she saw him, looking flustered.

'Pai-san!' she said at last, pulling herself together a little and bowing clumsily.

'Lettuce-sama,' he replied, returning her bow. She looked taken aback by the name, and a blush tinted her cheeks as she cast about for something to say.

'Um…are you leaving? For the, uh…'

'I am supposed to be representing the Cyniclons in a meeting of the United Nations, yes,' Pai interrupted before she could work herself into any more of a state. 'I persuaded my commander to let me wait until Kisshu regained consciousness.'

'So he's awake?' Lettuce asked, sincere, astonishing compassion filling her face. He still wasn't used to how much she seemed to care for humans and Cyniclons alike. 'Oh, thank goodness, Ichigo was so worried…'

'As was I. But now I must join the negotiators. They've broached the topic of overpopulation and limiting birth rates, which your kind seem to be finding particularly thorny.'

'There was an incident in China…' Lettuce murmured. Her eyes were suddenly troubled, and she met Pai's gaze fully for the first time as she said:

'Pai-san, I'm worried. I know we've stopped the fighting for now, but I don't see how this can possibly work. It's too huge. It's like you said in a way, humans are selfish. I'm so afraid…' She dropped her eyes, shaking her head slowly.

'It's a noble fear.'

'Pai-san?'

'You are afraid of having to kill, Lettuce.' Pai's demeanour was calm, but Lettuce saw him swallow before continuing. 'I want you to know…that you have my unfailing respect. Until very recently I managed to convince myself that your kind were inferior to mine; it was my defence. But you were under no such delusion. From the beginning you saw us as equals, and desired peace…and yet you fought us anyway, to protect those you loved. I'm only just beginning to understand how much courage that must have taken.

'Pai…' Lettuce whispered, her blush deepening. His indigo eyes were boring into hers, and she noticed afresh how tall and imposing and handsome he was…standing there, calling her Lettuce-_sama_.

'These are uncertain times, as you said. But here is something you can be certain of.' Pai stepped forward and took her firmly by the shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. 'I will never make war on your people, Retasu. I will never fight with you again. This is a promise.' Lettuce gazed back at him, mesmerised by the intensity of his expression. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly bent his head. Time seemed to stop. She held perfectly still as he kissed her Mew mark, and then, very softly, her lips. 'Arigatou, Retasu-chan,' he whispered. Lettuce fought for breath. Her Mark burned.

'Arigatou, Pai-kun,' she said shakily. 'Good luck.'

'Goodbye, Retasu-sama,' he said, bowing formally. 'I hope we meet again soon.' She mirrored his bow, her mind full of his dark eyes and his white skin and the way his voice sounded when he pronounced her name fully…_Retasu_…

Pai straightened up, and then _smiled_.

_I am going to faint_, Lettuce thought. But she didn't, and the next moment Pai was gone and her dizziness was fading, to be replaced by a slowly swelling sense of jubilation.

Ichigo entered the room just in time to see her friend spin round with a cry of 'wheeeeeeeeeeee!' and overbalance into a chair.

'What happened?' she asked, in an all right spill kind of voice.

'Nothing!' Lettuce sang. Then she caught sight of Ichigo's face.

'Ichigo! What's wrong, what happened?'

'Nothing.' Ichigo was reluctant to bring Lettuce down from whatever cloud she was on. She had never seen the reserved green Mew so bubbly and light-hearted. However, this was Lettuce.

'Ichigo, tell me,' she said, gently but firmly.

'It's…it's Aoyama-san. He –'

Lettuce interrupted her softly. 'I know.'

Ichigo gawped. 'You know? How –'

'I saw that it was him when I covered him over on the beach. I didn't say anything, but I would have told you eventually, if Ryou hadn't. Is he going to be OK.'

'I think so,' Ichigo said in subdued tones. 'He looked pretty bad, though.'

'I'm so sorry.'

'It's OK.' Ichigo made an effort and shook off her dark mood, bringing the subject back round to Lettuce. 'I passed Pai on my way in. What did he do?'

Lettuce giggled and whispered: 'He kissed me!' She covered her mouth with her hands and blushed deeply.

'So that's nothing.' Ichigo grinned.

'He's not as useless as he looks then, is he?' Kish shouted from his room.

'Oh!' Ichigo glanced at the door. Lettuce nodded encouragingly.

'Go on, go.'

Ichigo smiled gratefully. 'Thanks, Lettuce.'

'Ichigo, wait!' Lettuce called, grabbing her hand. 'Do you think it's OK?'

'What, for you to be dating the enemy. Lettuce, I'm hardly one to talk.'

'No, I guess not.' Lettuce giggled a bit more, bashfully this time. 'Do you think he might l-love me?'

'Well, we didn't exactly discuss it…' Ichigo smiled slowly, 'but if the amount of time he spent by your bed while you were unconscious is anything to go by, then yes.'

Lettuce blushed absolutely beetroot. 'He did what?' she squeaked. 'I thought it was just coincidence that he was there when I woke up!'

Ichigo was beaming now. 'He hardly left you alone all the time, Lettuce. Trust me, that boy's got it bad.'

'Oh, uh, right.' Lettuce stared down at the floor, drawing interesting patterns with her toe. 'I'm going to go and…'

Ichigo watched, smiling fondly, as she wandered off down the corridor, then slipped into Kish's room.

He looked tired but happy, but as he saw her his face fell.

'Ichigo, what's wrong?' he demanded, struggling to sit up. She flew to his side and laid him back down again, tucking the sheets around his shoulders.

'Nothing much, I'm just a bit shocked, that's all…' Quickly she explained everything Ryou had told her. Kish's face became perfectly blank as she spoke, and his eyes never left her.

'Ichigo…' he said when she was done, 'if you think you've made the wrong choice –'

'No, Kish, no!' Ichigo was instantly contrite, seizing his hand. 'Kish, I love _you_! It's just a bit of a shock, we were very close for a long time…'

'I know.'

'Kish, I know you hate Aoyama, but please, try to get along with him.'

'Don't worry, Koneko-chan, I will. I've got nothing against him, as long as you choose _me_.'

His hands tightened possessively around hers on the last word. He tried to smile, but she could still see the anxiety lurking in his eyes.

'I do choose you,' she whispered. 'Absolutely. For always.'

Kish sighed and relaxed as her lips touched his, wiping all his anxiety away. His heart swelled in him until he could barely breath, because they were safe, and they were together, him and his Koneko-chan, whom he could rightfully call his at last. The thought was almost unbearable in it's splendour.

'Ichigo,' he whispered, spreading his arms to her. She hesitated only for a moment before climbing carefully into them, swinging one leg over him and straddling him to the bed. He hissed a little as the mattress moved.

'Kish! Did I hurt you?'

'You never hurt me, Ichigo-chan. I love you…'

'I love you too.' Ichigo gazed down at him, feeling hot tears spring to her eyes as she did so. The expression on his face could only be described as adoration. How could she deny him, how could she ever have denied him, when he loved her so much? She gazed down at him, realising fully for the first time how beautiful he was. His olive-sheened hair contrasted sharply with his pale, almost translucent skin, and his liquid golden eyes looked as though one could dive into them, like pools under trees. He strained up towards her, his breath catching, and she hastily placed her hands on his cheeks and lowered her head towards him.

'It's OK, Kisshu-chan, I'm coming to you.' She pressed her lips to his in a fervent kiss, trying to convey all her overwhelming love for him. He moaned and clutched at her hair, and she felt his tears joining her own on her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around him, wanting desperately to take away his pain.

'Oh Ichigo,' he whispered, touching her cheek. She kissed him again. It seemed too easy, that all it took to make him happy was a simple kiss. She owed him more. And the joy that welled out of him when she pressed her lips willingly to his was irresistible, overwhelming.

'I love you, Kish,' she reiterated, almost growling with fervour as she locked her eyes with his.

'It hurts when you say that, Koneko-chan. It's the sweetest kind of pain. Tell me again.'

'I _love_ you.'

Kish moaned, arching up against her as she kissed him for a third time. Her tongue stroked along his lips and into his mouth, and they were joined, melting inextricably together, and it was all his dreams come true, and so much more. Ichigo loved him. _She loved him_.

'Oh Ichigo, never leave me,' he whispered, running his hand back and forth along her jaw.

'Kisshu.' She touched her lips briefly to his again. 'I'll need to leave for a while, I have to go home sometime, but I'll come back. I'll never leave you.'

'What I would have done,' he said, 'for one kiss like these…'

'I know that now,' Ichigo said quietly. She rolled off him and knelt by the side of the bed, holding his hand and stroking back his hair. 'You should rest, Kisshu-kun. Sleep, and I'll be back when you wake up.'

'Thank you, Ichigo,' he murmured. 'This is…'

His vision was growing dark, his mind drifting. All sense faded, leaving only the echo of her voice, the caress of her hands. He felt as though he were drifting, more peaceful than he'd been for months, perhaps for his whole life.

'…heaven,' he whispered, just before his eyes closed.

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

It was mid-afternoon. Kish was sitting on a bench in the park near Ichigo's house, watching while Pudding and Tart whizzed around close by. He still got tired if he tried to do much and the only other person present was Zakuro, who was being no help, so it was quite a relief when Ichigo and Lettuce appeared at the park gate, still in their school uniforms, and came running towards him.

Of course, it was always a relief to see Ichigo.

'Yo, Koneko-chan!' He stood, spreading his arms, and Ichigo ran into them. Kish hugged her tightly, smiling at Lettuce over her shoulder. 'Hi, Retasu-onee-chan.'

'Hello, Kish,' she smiled, still a little shy. 'Pudding, let GO of Taru-taru's ear, you _know_ he doesn't like it…'

Kish and Ichigo broke their hug and turned, arms round each other's waists, to watch as Lettuce ran over to the children and began to restore some semblance of order to the scene.

'She is an angel,' Ichigo murmured, awestruck.

'…I don't care what she did to you, if you drop her in the lake I shall be _very angry_!'

'OK, OK, Retasu-onee-chan,' Tart sighed, lowering a squealing Pudding back to the ground.

About five minutes later Ryou and Keiichiro arrived, walking from the café. Shortly after their appearance Mint's limo appeared round the corner.

It was an important day for several reasons. Masaya was out of hospital. Kish's bandages had come off. And three hundred Cyniclons were due to take up residence in Tokyo. To celebrate Ryou and Keiichiro had announced a barbeque party in the park. Even Pai was getting time off to be there.

The limo drew up by the curb. Mint got out and then, instead of walking over, turned back, reaching into the car to help somebody else out. As the light fell on his face, Ichigo saw that it was Masaya. He looked thinner than before and he walked using a pair of crutches, but he managed a whole-hearted smile as Mint helped him to find his balance and closed the car door behind him.

'Wow,' Ichigo whispered to Kish. 'Is Mint actually _helping_ someone?'

Kish laughed a little and squeezed her hand, then gave a rather stiff nod as Masaya turned in their direction. Ichigo smiled and waved, but she was glad that Mint seemed to be OK – more than OK – with continuing to look after him. It made things much less awkward, and gave her more time to be with her Kisshu.

Ryou and Keiichiro were beginning to set up a barbecue. Zakuro, Mint and Masaya went to join them, while Lettuce was playing tag with Tart and Pudding, who had become remarkably civilised under her influence. Ichigo squeezed Kish's hand and went jogging over to join in. Kish watched them for a moment and then noticed a ripple in the air a short distance away, in the shadow of the trees.

Pai.

He walked (he didn't feel quite up to running) to the place where he had seen the movement, and came upon Pai quite suddenly, peering out from behind a tree.

'Pai!' he greeted. 'I would say you were lurking, but that can't be right.'

'Kish.' Pai's expression was more resigned than anything else. 'I'm glad to see your feeling better.'

'Yep. Fit as a fiddle (think of that and tremble). I'm glad you're here; Lettuce hasn't shut up about it since she heard you could come. Nor has Tart, for that matter.'

'I don't know what you mean,' Pai said stiffly. Kish clapped him on the shoulder.

'Course you don't.'

They walked back over to the rest of the group, who were now clustered around the barbeque, trying to get it to light.

'No, no, you need to hold the match _under_ the fuel or how do you expect to get anywhere? Hot air rises, you know.'

'_Whatever_, Ryou.'

'Here, Mint, let me…OW!'

'Pai-onii-chan!' Pudding wailed, turning round and spotting him. 'Keiichiro-onii-chan banged his head on the barbeque! Do you know any first aid?'

'Don't worry, Pudding, I don't need first aid,' Keiichiro said, straightening up and smiling bravely. 'Pai-san! Good afternoon, I'm so pleased you could make it. Oh look, it's caught light at last.'

He opened a large cool-box and began placing sausages and kebabs on the grill. Lettuce, meanwhile, had spotted Pai, flushed a dazzling shade of pink and immersed herself in conversation with Mint and Masaya.

'Don't worry, you've got all evening,' Kish said bracingly, and disappeared back to Ichigo before Pai could retort.

Soon the smell of roasting meat was filling the air. Pudding hung over the grill like a hawk, her eyes sparkling. Tart hovered beside her, and they elbowed each other occasionally, vying for the best position. Finally Ryou poured some coke into a glass and held it aloft for silence.

'Now that we're all here,' he began, and then paused impressively.

'Speech!' Kish yelled.

Ryou looked at him. 'Actually I was going to say let's eat.'

'Oh.' Kish shrugged. 'Well, that works for me as well.'

Keiichiro smiled as if to say 'my work here is done' as the Mews and aliens descended on the food. Pai smiled at Lettuce over the barbeque and she blushed even more deeply and shot away without taking anything.

'Lettuce-onee-chan!' Pudding called, running after her.

'Uh, yes Pudding?' Lettuce asked, torn between courtesy and escape.

'You forgot your kebab! And Pai wants to talk to you.'

'I know, I mean, I, uh…'

'So then,' Tart said, floating cross-legged in midair above Pudding, 'I out with my weapon, and POOOOSSSSHHHH-booooommmm! The guy never knew what hit him!'

'So I here negotiations have been successful thus far?' Keiichiro was saying to Pai.

'More so than I would have believed possible.' Pai seemed distracted, and kept glancing off in the direction of the trees. '…would you excuse me for a moment?'

'Of course,' Keiichiro said graciously. Pai set down his plate and slipped quietly off.

Lettuce was leaning against a tree, out of sight of the others, warring with herself_. I should go back out there and make myself agreeable, but what do I_ say _to him? _She peeped around the tree, then whipped back out of sight, hyperventillating._ Oh no, here he comes!_

'Lettuce,' Pai said, stepping in front of her, 'are you running away from me?'

'NO! I – I mean –'

'Don't,' Pai said simply, taking her hands. He looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, but still incredibly handsome, and more than a little scary. And – _oh God_ – _happy_ to see her.

'Pai, I…'

'Ssshhh. I messed up.' He gave a rueful smile. 'Again.'

'Huh?'

'I talked to you, I thanked you, I _kissed_ you, and yet I _still_ didn't manage to tell you that I love you!'

'Wait.' Lettuce held up her hands. 'You love me?'

Pai gave her The Look. 'You mean you didn't know?'

'Well, I had a…a fair idea, you know, after the k-kiss, but…'

Pai smiled suddenly, pushing her hair back and cupping her cheek. 'And do you love me back?'

'Yes, of course!'

Pai's face lit up. 'Really?'

'Yes, why on Earth would I not?'

'Well, there's the whole taking over the Earth thing…'

'Yeah, but you've kicked that habit now…'

'And then…' Lettuce noticed to her astonishment that Pai was blushing as well now. 'It's…rather foolish really but I…I was very shy to tell you for a long time because I thought you might not like my fangs and…and my ears.'

'Pai!' Lettuce gave a splutter of laughter, flinging her arms spontaneously around him. He took an astonished step backwards and then relaxed and hugged her back. 'Don't be ridiculous, I don't mind your fangs, and your ears…well, actually I think their kind of c-cute –'

Pai hugged her so hard that he lifted her right off the ground. 'Really? You do?'

'Uh-huh,' Lettuce nodded shakily. She buried her face in his shoulder and squealed: 'I can't believe I just admitted that!'

'I'm glad you did.' Pai took her gently by the chin and turned her face up towards his. 'And as for me…well, I like it when you blush. It's very endearing.'

As if to prove his point Lettuce flushed more deeply still. She giggled as his ears rose upwards along with his smile.

'I love you,' Pai whispered, and pressed his lips gently to hers.

* * *

Over by the barbeque, Ichigo glanced fondly up at the couple who could just be seen, silhouetted against a tree on the edge of the forest.

'I knew they'd manage it.'

'Eventually,' Kish grumbled. 'But that's Pai for you, I suppose. You're just lucky I'm so smooth, Kitty-cat.'

'Huh.'

But Ichigo could only fake annoyance as Pai and Lettuce came hurrying hand in hand towards them, both practically skipping, to help themselves to food.

'You know the one thing that could make this evening any better?' Kish asked of the group in general. Ichigo stiffened, bracing herself for some perverted comment or other.

'What?' Mint asked.

'Neapolitan ice-cream!' Kish yelled childishly. Ichigo gave him a 'what?' look and then burst out laughing.

'As it happens I have some right here,' Keiichiro smiled, delving further into the magic cool-bag.

* * *

Kish was sitting back on the bench, but this time his Kitten was beside him. The other Mews had started up a game of rounders. As he and Ichigo watched Tart stepped up to bat. He hit the ball off into the trees and then teleported straight to fourth base, where Pudding immediately clonked him over the head.

'Taru-taru! Pudding said NO TELEPORTING na no da!'

'What?' Tart said defensively. 'Some people can run faster than others, and they score more rounders. Some people can teleport, and –'

Kish wrapped his arm around Ichigo, toying gently with a strand of her hair. He was still not well enough to play, and it always gave him a little thrill when she chose being with him over something else, no matter how small the occasion. They both smiled at Lettuce's star-struck expression as Pai pulled off a magnificent strike at the ball, sending it spinning far out into the field. Her admiration turned to astonishment as it thudded straight into her open hands.

'Wake up, Lettuce! The ball!' Ryou shouted from third base.

'Oh, right!' Lettuce said, flustered. 'Out!'

'Hahaha, you got caught out,' Tart crowed, turning somersaults in mid-air.

'I never claimed to be a match for Retasu,' Pai returned, smiling softly. Tart made retching noises.

Ichigo smiled and snuggled closer to Kish, turning his face towards her with one hand.

'I love you, Kisshu-chan –' she began.

'Look!' he interrupted, pointing over her shoulder.

A teleporting circle had appeared by the bridge over the lake. As Ichigo looked a group of Cyniclons stepped out of it. A woman with a baby in a sling on her chest, a teenage girl leading her little sister by the hand, a tall man carrying his small son piggyback. Their faces filled with wonder as they took in the lush grass and the shadowy shapes of the trees, and felt the warm breeze blowing. Ichigo felt tears prick her eyes as she watched them.

'My people,' Kish whispered. 'Thank you, Ichigo, for helping this to happen.'

Ichigo turned back to face him, blinking away her tears. 'I hoped…that it would turn out all right,' she said.

'I knew it would turn out all right from the moment I saw you,' Kish whispered back. 'Ever since the day when I swooped down and kissed you without your permission…'

Ichigo gave a hiccuppy giggle. 'It was sort of nice,' she admitted. Kish's arms suddenly tightened around her and he lifted her onto his lap, clasping his hands behind her neck.

'Knew you liked it really,' he teased softly. 'I didn't know what I meant by "right" back then, but all the same, I was sure.'

Ichigo shook her head slowly. 'It amazes me, every time I realise how much you love me.'

'Truly, I do,' Kish murmured. His hand slid up into her hair, pulling her face slowly down towards his. 'Ichigo, these negotiations, this treaty _will_ work out. Whenever people are doubting whether we can live in peace, they'll see how much we love each other and be reassured. And I will never leave you, Koneko-chan.'

'I know,' Ichigo breathed, and kissed him. Kish sighed and leaned back against the bench, basking in the sweetness that filled him just as strongly every time.

'My angel,' he whispered. The stars pricked out overhead, Tart and Pudding squabbled cheerfully, the fire flickered and the first Cyniclons stood and drank in their new home. Kish and Ichigo knew all of this, but they paid it little attention for the moment. It served as a backdrop against which they could play out their love story without guilt or fear, safe in the knowledge that there was nothing they should be doing, no-one they should be fighting and no force that could tear them apart.

'Ichigo…?'

'Heaven.'

**The End**

**A/N: And they all lived sappily ever after…wait! I have just finished my first chaptered fanfic! *faints* And now here is a song to go with this final chapter…oh no! Now I am ACTUALLY CRYING! Review if this fic and this song make you cry. It's from The Lion King II, and if you go to Youtube I expect you will be able to find a clip of smooshy lions singing it.**

_In a perfect world,  
One we've never known,  
We would never need to face the world alone.  
They can have the world.  
We'll create our own.  
I may not be brave, or strong or smart,  
But somewhere in my secret heart I know_

_Love will find a way.  
Everywhere I go  
I'm home,  
If you are there beside me by dark,  
Turning into day.  
Somehow we'll come through.  
Now that I've found you.  
Love will find a way._

_I was so afraid.  
Now I realise  
Love is never wrong, and so it never dies.  
There's a perfect world,  
Shining in your eyes,  
And if only they could feel it too,  
The happiness I share with you they'd know_

_Love will find a way  
Everywhere we go  
We're home,  
If we are there together, by dark,  
Turning into day.  
Somehow we'll come through.  
Now that I've found you.  
Love will find a way._

_I know love will find a way._

**How long has it actually BEEN since I watched that film? Who knows? Thanks to Essence of Gold for the idea about the Neapolitan ice-cream.**

**Yes, in the end I couldn't bear to kill Masaya. It would have put a damper on the PaiXLettuce fluff, which came immediately afterwards. To which, BTW, the song can also be applied. And I am away from my desk for the next three weeks, but that is NO EXCUSE NOT TO REVIEW! I will reply to you all when I get back and I expect a nice full inbox!**

**And now I'm just going to shut up before this smoosh-mobile gets waaaaaayyyyy out of hand.**

**True XXX. All hail my first ever complete, and quickest ever, chapter fic.**

**There was the one I co-wrote with Essence of Gold, but that is quite literally another story.**


End file.
